The Son of Neptune
by pulchra fabula
Summary: Takes place after the Lost Hero; My version. Beware: Spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

**Beware: Spoilers ahead! **

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Percy woke up completely confused. He was lying in a bed that wasn't his surrounded by people he didn't know. And they did not look happy to see him.

"Why are you here?" a nasty looking boy asked.

"Here?" Percy questioned.

"Don't be a idiot," the boy replied with a sneer as the others looked on. "Why are you here, Greek?"

"I'm sorry," Percy replied, slightly surprised by the boy's choice of words, "but I don't know anything."

"Pathetic weakling," the boy told him. "*Est stultus et temerarious puer ad venit huc," he turned and said to the others, who laughed. Percy did not completely understand the language, but it sounded as if the boy was making fun of him.

"**Non tamquam stultus tua," a girl said from the shadows. The boy looked at her.

"Jake," she said, "it is not fair of you to judge those you have not met. Maybe he's different."

"All Greeks and pathetic, weak, and stupid, Lilly," Jake replied, "you know that."

"Instead of assuming, why not give him a chance to prove himself. That is how it works around here, remember?" She glared at him.

Jake looked at her, slightly taken aback. He bowed his head. "Fine. Who should he fight?"

"Me."

Percy looked at those surrounding his bed, shocked at their reaction. This girl must be horrible if everyone was scared to fight her. Lilly turned and looked at him.

"You have 15 minutes. Get your weapon, but no armor and meet me in the ring. Bobby, show him around. And play nicely. Or else."

Something in Lilly's tone and voice had a command of air to it. Everyone quickly left Percy's side and went to busy themselves. Bobby stood awkwardly by the foot of the bed as Lilly looked down at Percy.

"You have a chance to prove yourself, son of Neptune. Don't screw it up," she said and left.

Percy looked over at Bobby, who simply gave him a blank stare. "Come on then," Bobby finally said. Percy got up and went to find a weapon, but then felt his in his pocket on an instinct. He pulled out a ballpoint pen. Knowing what to do, but not sure why, he uncapped it. It became a sword. Bobby gave him another glare.

"Let's go," was all that was said. Percy followed him to the arena, trying to figure everything out. He had no idea where or better yet who he was. The girl called a son of Poseidon, no, she said a son of Neptune. That was Poseidon's Roman name, right? Percy didn't know where he dredged up those facts, or why he completely believed in the Greek and Roman gods. It felt like it had all happened before.

The arena was packed, with people booing and hissing. Lilly sat calmly in the corner, wearing all black. She had taken off her sweatshirt, and Percy could see that on her right arm was a series of black stripes, looking like a barcode. There were thirteen of them, and on top were SPQR and a war helmet. Percy shuddered, now realizing why everyone was here to watch the fight. Everybody wanted to see how a Greek boy would fare against the daughter of Hades/Pluto.

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*English translation: "You are stupid and foolish to come here boy."

** "Not as stupid as you"

**OK, so that's my story beginning, more will come. :)**

** Please let me know what you think. Reviews are wonderful! **

**Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Probably should have done a disclaimer last chapter. Oh well.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJ universe, except for the characters I create. **

*****and I don't write like Rick Riordan, unfortunately, so sorry if it's not the same style, hope you like it nonetheless.***

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"Would you like to back down now?" she called, "Or is public humiliation better for getting the message across?"

Percy went up and climb into the ring. Everyone was watching him, and there were a few more minutes before the match officially began. A few more campers were filling in the stands. As Percy drank some water, he closely looked at the daughter of Hades, no, Pluto, in front of him. She looked to be about sixteen, with short black hair and pale skin. She looked about average height, but had the most striking eyes. They were a deep dark blue, nearly black. And they were currently giving me a death stare worthy of…wait, what's his name? Percy shock his head, annoyed that he almost remembered something and then lost it.

"Ready?" Lilly asked. She stood up and walked confidently into the center of the ring.

"Um….good luck man," Bobby said, stealing horrified glances at Lilly. "She hasn't fought with anyone since she killed Kathleen. Lupa told her she couldn't fight the living anymore. You might just become mincemeat."

Percy took that all in as he walked toward the fierce-looking girl. Something tugged at his memory, telling him not to be worried. _'She can't hurt you,' _the voice said_, 'you've been in the River Styx._' Percy smiled, he somehow knew it was true. He wouldn't be overconfident, but he wouldn't be scared either. It would be a good fight.

A gong was banged. The fight began in a flurry of swinging swords. Percy let his reflexes take over, he remembered doing this. It felt natural, not force. He felt he could do this, he'd beaten many before her.

_Clang_. Swipe. _Clang_. Duck. Thrust. Block. It all came back so rapidly. Every movement was perfect, he avoided all her blows. He attempted to disarm her, pulling a trick he had no idea he knew. It worked. He held his sword to her throat, but she smiled and vanished. Suddenly a dagger was at his throat and his sword was knock from his hand.

"Why do you think I never lose?" Lilly taunted, coming from behind to face him. Percy looked at the people in the stands, and then wished he hadn't. Some look gleeful, others sad. Percy glared into Lilly's eyes.

"Kill me then," he stated.

"Now why would I do that?" she declared. "Besides, son of Poseidon, I can't. I sliced your arm before, but you didn't even notice. You weren't even harmed. Do you know why?" She gazed at him, thinking, and Percy was aware that the whole stadium could hear their conversation.

"Yes."

"Because you have swam in the River Styx." The whole arena gasped.

"Impossible!" cried a voice from the audience.

"But no one's done that since Achilles!" someone called out.

"Apparently this young _Greek_ demigod has," Lilly replied, sheathing her dagger and walking over to retrieve her sword. "Lead him to a cabin. He has proven himself, though there will be more tests along the way. And," the entire crowd was silent as she spoke, "treat him with the same respect as you treat me." With those words, she vanished again.

Percy turned to see wide eyes looking at him and the spot where Lilly vanished.

"Come right this way," Bobby said, leading him to an isolated cabin near a creek, "you'll stay here.

"Please," Percy said, "explain to me what's going on. How did I end up here? What's going on?"

"Well, yesterday, a camper just disappeared. No one knows what happened, and when you showed up, well, I guess people thought old rivalries were back."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I have nothing to do with the missing camper. I don't even know who I am! I don't know my last name!" Percy ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Yeah," Bobby awkwardly said, "well….." he let the sentence trail off. "You were really lucky that Lilly stood up for you. Now that Jason's gone, Jake's been ordering everybody around. He probably would have killed you. But Lilly has the most respect here. She's also the most powerful here, now that Jason's gone. And you're really lucky you weren't killed. She's got a temper and attitude. But she cares, sometimes, and she does what she thinks is best. Sometimes I feel bad for her and Jason; they are each the only children of their godly parent; I don't know what I'd do without my brothers and sisters."

"Who is their parent?"

"Lilly's is Pluto, and Jason's is Jupiter. You're the only son of Neptune that has been at this camp in years."

Percy nodded.

"And…" Bobby hesitated, "I'm sorry that I wasn't too nice before, but Jason was my friend, and without him, it's just…not the same. And after all he did in the Titan war, it is so hard to believe he's gone. Lots of people think he's dead, but me and my friends don't think so. You showed up and he left, and it was just…too weird. So, yeah, sorry." Bobby hunched his shoulders and continued.

"It's fine, man," Percy said, "I would probably do the same thing. I swear I had nothing to do with Jason's disappearance, but I'll try and help you look for him. Maybe I could find some answers about myself too."

Bobby turned back to look at Percy, a smile of gratitude on his face. "Thanks. I hope you find what you're looking for as well." A whistle sounded in the distance. "I gotta go, I have archery practice now." He turned and ran towards the sound of the whistle, leaving Percy to walk the final steps to his new home alone.

"Just at the moment I could have gotten some answers, he has to leave," Percy said to himself as he opened the door of the Neptune cabin, "this always happens to me."

"Perhaps I could help you there?" a voice asked from inside his room.

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**Hope you like it, please review! **

**Thanks! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Lilly, daughter of Pluto, was sitting on Percy's bed. Just sitting there. Percy grabbed his sword, thinking that she might be there to kill him.

"Relax dude," Lilly said, "I couldn't kill you if I wanted to, I don't know your vulnerable spot. Come to think of it, I don't even think you do." She allowed herself to smirk. "That stinks. You could be fighting and suddenly BAM! You're dead. Comforting, right?"

"What do you want?" Percy asked, feeling a little confused as to why she was in his cabin.

"To help you of course, Seaweed Brain." Something about that name caused Percy to think of a blond-haired girl with gray eyes. 'Who was she?' Was all Percy could think before Lilly yelled his name.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, sorry…"

Lilly stared at him. "Well, I thought I'd answer so of your questions, because, you know, I'm such a helpful person!"

"You want something else in return, though, right?" Percy asked, "What? My soul?"

"Stop it," Lilly commanded him. "I came here out of the small bit of goodness present in my heart. Do you want my help or not?"

Percy nodded and said, "Please."

"Alright then," she nodded, "sit." She patted the spot next to her on his bed. "I cannot tell you all of what I know because Ju—I mean a certain heavenly being might kill me. OK?"

"It's that bad, huh?" Percy asked.

"Much worse."

"Great. OK, my first question where am I and why am I here?"

"You are at the Roman Demi-god School; and I can't really answer why you're here."

"Don't know or can't tell."

"Both."

Percy sighed. "Alright, so do you know who I am?"

Lilly nodded, "you are Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon."

Percy took that information in, "Jackson…" he mumbled, trying to remember anything about himself. "Wait," he stopped his musing and looked directly at Lilly. "How do you know all that? And why do you keep flip-flopping Greek and Roman god names?"

Lilly sighed. "You're second question is a bit easier to answer and sorta ties into the first one. The gods still live, but sometimes come down as Roman gods or Greek gods. Depending on how they reveal themselves to the mortal, leads to whether a demi-god is Greek or Roman. Follow me?"

"Kinda."

"Whatever, close enough. And now, I know all this because I'm a daughter of Pluto."

"Why does that make you so special?"

Lilly turned a bit to look at him in the eye. "I'm not like the other children here at school. They are welcome here. I am not. The only reason I am here is because I was dropped off when I was three with the threat that if anything happened to me, Pluto would annihilate the entire school and students. I'm feared here, as you saw before, so I often visit the Underworld."

"How? That vanishing thing you do? And what does that have to do with knowing who I am?" Percy interrupted.

"I'm getting to that! _Acquiesce (_Relax)! Give me a little time to explain. Yes, that 'vanishing' thing. It is called shadow-traveling. I often go down to my father's palace. You see, the only people that really accept me are the dead. Real, living people think I reek of death, and are scared out of their minds."

"Well you did kill someone." Percy interjected. "Sorry, ADHD, takeover," he quickly said after getting a glare from Lilly.

"Yeah, I did kill someone. But that was about 6 years ago. They just haven't forgotten." Lilly looked into Percy's eyes. "I really didn't mean to kill her. She was a daughter of Mars, and we were fighting partners. She wasn't being a good sport about me being her partner and all, and tormented me all the time. I don't know, one day during a fight I just snapped or something. I attacked her with such fury. But she was a better swordswomen then I was and she beat me. So there I was, with her sword at my throat, and her laughing and humiliating me, again, in front of the whole school. Everybody hated me, and was glad to see me mad and beaten. I don't know where the extreme anger came from, but suddenly and deep, black chasm opened up beneath Kathleen and she dropped into it, screaming. People went to go save her, but…she was gone. I was forbidden by Lupa to fight with anymore demigods."

"Whose Lupa?"

Lilly laughed, starling Percy, "here you are, a 16 year old boy, and you're asking questions like you're 10 or something."

"Well, hey, I'm curious," Percy said and laughed too.

Lilly shook her head, smiling. "Lupa is our leader. She's a wolf, and she raised the founders of Rome. You know if you keep interrupting, I'm never gonna get a chance to finish answering your questions. I'm not even sure I remember it anymore." Lilly laughed some more. Percy thought she was pretty upbeat for someone who spends a lot of time chilling with dead people.

"Please do continue."

"Where was I?"

"Living people find you extremely creepy."

"Right. So, living people find me 'extremely creepy' and the gods want me dead. The dead people like me though. So I just train with them and stuff." She allowed herself a smile, "I've had some of the best teachers in history. So anyway, how I knew who you were. I enjoying meeting heroes who die—"

"That's weird. But keep going."

"And last year, I met a boy, and son of Hephaestus, named Charles Beckendorf, and learned all about the Greek demi-gods. I guess my father was too busy with the war to be concerned with censoring who I was allowed to talk to and what not. I was shocked, and it was so weird to learn. But it also explained a lot. And it explained certain behaviors of my father…" She let the sentence trail off, thinking.

Percy waited for a minute, fidgeting. "And?"

"Right, sorry. I talked to Beckendorf. And I learned a lot about you and your life."

"How does Beckendorf know me? The name sounds familiar, but I can't remember."

Lilly shook her head, "sorry, I'm not allowed to tell you."

Percy sighed. "Of course. And I suppose you can't tell me about my life either, right?"

Lilly grimaced. "Yeah."

Percy nodded. "OK."

"I'm gonna go now," Lilly said, awkwardly getting up, "I'll see you later?"

Percy notice that the last bit was a question. He nodded and said, "As my only friend here, you will be seeing a lot of me."

Percy noticed the wide smile that Lilly tried to hide as she left the cabin.

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	4. Chapter 4

**OK, so I was told that there is a Heroes of Olympus section now on Fanfiction, and I promised to let everyone know. **

**Thanks to all who reviewed or liked this story, it really means a lot to me! Hope you like the chapter!**

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Lilly walked out of the cabin and right into Jake.

"Hey," he sneered, "you know what the boy is right? He's a _Greek_. Have you completely forgotten everything we learned in class? That boy is an enemy. He needs to die."

Lilly turned and shoved Jake hard into the water.

"And I want you dead," she replied, "but unfortunately we can't always get what we want."

Jake stared up at her from the stream, soaking wet and looking extremely peeved.

"Lilith Winchester." A harsh voice spoke. Lilly turned at the sound of her name. Stand on a nearby rock was Lupa, staring down at her.

"Lupa," Lilly said, as she kneeled.

"That was not the right course of action to take," Lupa scolded, nodding her head to Jake getting out of the river. "I expected better of you."

"I shall not behave that way again," Lilly promised. She felt the wolf's calculating look, trying to detect her lies.

"Very well," Lupa finally said, "but as punishment for your actions you must clean the stables tonight."

"Yes Lupa," Lilly replied, as she silently cursed the gods.

"Come with me," Lupa said, "I wish to speak with you."

Lilly followed Lupa, past the Main House, and into a small, slightly concealed cave. Lupa went into the far corner and stretched out. Lilly sat down opposite her. She had been in Lupa's cave before, but Lilly could sense something different about this meeting. She waited in silence for Lupa to begin speaking. Patience was taught at school, and Lupa expected all the demigods to practice it, which could be especially challenging for Lilly.

"Why did you stand up for the stranger?" Lupa suddenly asked.

"Because I thought it had something to do with Jason's disappearance."

"Why did you not torture and kill him? Why did you not ask for the information you seek?

"Well…I…"

"The truth, Lilith."

"I talked to some spirits…"

Lupa growled. "How many times has your father forbidden you from contacting the dead?"

"How many times has he bothered to speak to me?"

Lupa growled again, but let the rude remark slide. She was much more focused on learning how Lilly knew about Percy Jackson then the poor parenting skills of the gods. "Well?"

"I talked to a demigod spirit was told me all about Percy Jackson and the entire Greek demigod camp."

"Why was this spirit willing to talk to you about the Greeks when you clearly weren't one?"

"He was waiting for someone. So I kept him company for a bit, and paid Charon to ferry her across quickly."

"He was willing? How did he know you were not an enemy?"

"Well, it took a bit to gain his trust, but he said that he knew someone like me, and that though we are children of the dead, we aren't too bad."

"Tell me all you know child."

"I know that Juno doesn't want me to know."

Lupa's head whipped around and the she-wolf stared deep into Lilly's eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"She came to me in a dream and told me. Actually, more like yelled at me and then went off on a tangent about something-or-other."

"When did you get this dream?"

"Right before Olympus closed themselves off."

"You have known about the coming of this Greek half-blood for awhile, have you not?"

"Yes, I have."

"Why have you not told me?"

Lilly was silent for awhile, but then look Lupa in the eyes and said, "Because I didn't know if you knew, and I was afraid you would kill him."

Lupa gazed back into Lilly's resolute face. "My cub, when do I go around killing demigods?"

"We were taught not to trust those that were not Roman, especially Greeks."

"That is true, but—"

"Do you even know what this hero has done?" Lilly interrupted. "Do you know who he is? He is the only demigod child of the Sea God, either Roman or Greek. He withstood Atlas's burden. He is the hero that beat Kronos himself!"

"I know young demigod," Lupa said, raising her voice. Lilly was quiet. "Hera spoke to me before the closing of Olympus, and said that she would be leaving a Greek hero with me. Clearly this was before she knew of your knowledge."

"What would you have done different?" Lilly challenged. "Had I not known? Would you have stepped in? That would have singled him out as weak, and no one would accept him. By challenging him, I showed that though he is a Greek, he is strong. And he gained people's respect, they are in awe that he was in the River Styx."

Lupa looked at the girl before her. "I am not sure," she began, "and as it seems that your method has worked, I shall leave it at that. You will not be punished further."

"Thank you Lupa, that is much appreciated."

"Lilith," Lupa said, "do not tell Perseus Jackson about his life. Juno has commanded that he is not to know about his past life."

"I know and understand. Juno told me."

Lupa nodded, content. "Very well. Go now. I shall see you at dinner."

"Good-bye Lupa," Lilly said as she walked out of the cave and into the sunlight.

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**As usual, please review! **

**Amo te! :) **


	5. Chapter 5

** I don't know if anything else thought of this, but poseidon262 thought it was weird for a child of Pluto to be named Lilly. Her name is actually Lilith, which is supposedly the name of a very powerful demon queen. Hope that sheds a little light on that. :)**

**As always, thanks to those that reviewed.**

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**Lilly looked back at the cave she just left, and thanked the gods that she dodged certain questions from Lupa. Thankfully, the wolf hadn't been too curious about the Underworld. Lilly looked around, checking for any other demigods in the area. She was a safe distance away from Lupa's cave, hidden by the bushes, no one else was around her, and she was free until dinner. It was perfect. She shadow-traveled to the Underworld.

Lilly just couldn't help herself. She knew that she should not make secretive visits to the realm of the dead, but she just couldn't help it. It wasn't even Beckendorf or Silena that she went to talk to. It was Bianca di Angelo.

"Hello again," Bianca's ghostly form simmered next to Lilly.

"Hey B, how's it going?" Lilly replied back.

"You know you really should be with the living," Bianca lectured, but with a smile on her face. They had had this conversation many times before.

"But they aren't as fun as you."

Bianca's form shifted as she laughed. "Do you really enjoy spending that much time with a ghost?"

"Yes. Besides, I told you, I have no friends up there."

"Really?" Bianca faked being shocked. "No one? Not one living soul on Earth wants to be friends with you?"

Lilly smiled, but didn't respond to the question. "Percy Jackson arrived."

"Ah…Percy."

"Yeah."

"He has been accepted?"

"For the most part…"

"That is as much as we could hope for."

"But—"

"Lilly," Bianca said, "there is nothing you can do to help. Percy must be accepted on his own, or the point of Hera sending him to your camp would be redundant."

Lilly sighed. "I guess you're right."

Bianca smiled. "I know I am."

Lilly smiled at the spirit.

Bianca looked at her and said, "It's time for you to go back."

"Already?"

"You do not want to alert him to your presence."

"I don't care."

"Alright." Bianca nodded. "But listen, you don't need to keep coming down here. I don't want you in trouble with your father."

Lilly snorted. "Right, like he'd ever notice. Don't worry, I'll keep visiting you until you either kill me or I come to stay permanently." She gave a wry smile. "_Vale!" _(Goodbye).

Bianca waved as Lilly left. When she arrived back at camp, she went to her cabin, in the shadows of the forest trees, and washed up for dinner. The gong sounded. Lilly looked at the drawing she made of her and Bianca and once again shoved it under her mattress where no one could find it. Casting a look back at her hidden treasure, Lilly left for dinner.

Percy watched Lilly leave. He did not know what made him say that to her, he only knew that he felt bad that she had no one here at anywhere. He remembered the feeling of being lonely. But at least he had friends. 'Annie? No, that's not her name. Amanda? Nope. Alyssa? Wrong again.' Percy thought hard, trying to remember the name of the blond, gray-eyed girl. Her name definitely began with 'A' that's for sure. Why couldn't he remember? And why was she so important to him?'

"Lilith Winchester," Percy heard a voice call from outside his cabin. He looked out his window and saw Lupa the she-wolf for the first time. She was magnificent and intimidating. She started to lecture Lilly, and Percy walked away from the window, not wanting to eavesdrop.

He thought about what he had learned. Virtually nothing. He was the Son of the Greek god Poseidon, but he sorta already knew that. He was in a Roman School; that was new. The Roman's hated Greeks; understandable, but annoying. And he was somehow knew a dude called Beckendorf. Percy only wished he knew how him and Beckendorf were connected.

Percy also realized that he learned a bit about Lilly, daughter of Pluto. She was defiantly someone that he wanted with him in a fight. However, she slightly gave him chills when she talked about death. She was so nonchalant about killing a human when she was 10, it was kinda scary. He could understand why living people though she was creepy. But Percy couldn't shake the feeling that he knew someone like Lilly.

Percy sighed and pulled out his sword. _Riptide. _ The name easily came to his tongue. Why could his only remember patches of his past? Not even patches, more like sprinkles.

To distract himself from over-thinking and possibly getting a migraine, he looked around his new cabin. It was pretty bare. Simply a bed and a table with a chair. All wooden. He sighed. Boring! Where could he find a place to get some answers?

"Hey, um….Percy?" a voice called from outside his cabin door.

Percy walked over and opened the door, half expecting someone to attack him. But no one did. It was just a girl holding some clothes.

"Yes?" Percy answered as he awkwardly stood in the door.

"Hi," the girl responded, "I'm Gwendolyn, daughter of Ceres, but you can call me Gwen. Lupa sent me over with these." She held up a few purple shirts and jeans.

"Thanks. Ceres is Demeter, right?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I think so. But you have got to learn. You'll look like an idiot, then someone might kill you." Percy couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

"Ahhhh….ok."

"I'm also supposed to show you around school. So put these away, and let's go quickly."

Percy hastily dropped the clothes on the desk, remembering the blond girl voice in his head saying "Percy! Would it kill you to actually clean up once and awhile?" He tried to remember, but he still could not think of the mystery girl's name.

"You coming or not?" Gwen asked from the doorway.

"Ready," Percy replied.

The school was weird. It was way too disciplined and orderly for Percy's taste. He realized that his cabin wasn't as isolated as he thought. He passed a row of cabins on his way to the Main House.

"The Main House also has a shrine to each god in it," Gwen told him. The cabins were passed were the male gods. Bacchus, Mars, Mercury, Vulcan, and Apollo are the row of cabins. Neptune's is by the water and Pluto's is under the darkness of the forest. Jupiter's is in the middle of the two."

Across from the Main House was a gigantic arena, where Percy had fought Lilly. It looked a lot bigger now, probably because he was actually seeing it and not focused on dying.

"Here," Gwen said, as she led him to the other side of the Main House," are the cabins of the goddesses. And the cabin right next to the Main House is the home of our Oracle."

Percy looked at the Oracle's cabin and thought of a crazy red-headed girl, with paint everywhere. He sighed in frustration. Once again, he could not name a person in his mind.

"The cabins are in two rows, the first contains the cabins Juno, Minerva, and Venus; Juno's cabin is by the Oracle's. The second row is Ceres and Diana's cabins."

"But Artemis, sorry, Diana," Percy corrected himself, "she's a maiden. So do her hunters stay here?"

"Sometimes," Gwen replied, "lately they have, as the war has recently end. And now Jason's missing…"

"Sorry," Percy asked, "but who exactly is Jason?"

"He's a son of Jupiter. He is—was our camp leader. He defeated the Titan Krios on Mount Othrys last summer, and was a huge part in helping end the war. And he was a great guy…and one of my close friends."

"One of Bobby's too, right?"

Gwen gave him a half-smile. "Yeah, the six of us were pretty close; me, Jason, Bobby, son of Mercury, Dakota, son of Vulcan, Renya, daughter of Apollo, and Hazel, daughter of Minerva."

"Athena," Percy breathed. "Annabeth!"

"What?" Gwen asked him, very confused.

"It's nothing," Percy said, barely able to contain his excitement. He finally remembered her name.

"If you say so…."Gwen replied, giving him a questioning look. "Well, let's continue."

Percy followed happy that he finally remembered something. Annabeth. Blond, grayed-eyed, daughter of Athena, his best friend.

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**Yeah, so a slightly longer chapter. I also drew a map of The Roman Legion School, but I can't post it here. :(**

**Anyway, let me know how you feel. Please review! **

**Thanks! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**ok, firstly, the link of the map I drew is on my profile. Sorry for the long wait, I had so many tests. Enjoy!

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"Are you sure you're alright?" Gwen asked Percy.

"Yeah," he replied," yeah, I'm fine." But he still had a goofy grin on his face.

Gwen looked at him and shrugged deciding to ignore the grin that had spread across his face. She figured that boys are just weird. He was probably realizing that he was allowed to build weapons of mass destruction. She sighed. Why couldn't a boy not want to blow things up for once and focus of the nice things in life?

"Anyway…" she said, "back to earth. I'm supposed to show you the archery range where you will meet up with the Apollo cabin for lessons. But I have to show you the stables first. I take it you know how ride?"

Percy shrugged and gave the normal answer "I don't remember."

Gwen rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. Of course he couldn't remember anything.

"Well, I'll get the Venus cabin to deal with that."

Percy nodded.

"Let's go, we need to go over to the archery range," Gwen said, "you cannot be late for practice."

Percy arrived at the archery range. Teenagers in purple shirts fired arrow after arrow into the targets. The rarely missed the bull-eyes and if they did, it hit the innermost circle. A sense of dread washed over him. He got a feeling that he was going to make a gigantic fool of himself.

"So," a girl said coolly, coming up to him, "this is the Son of Neptune."

Percy could hear the distaste in her mouth. She didn't like the fact that he was here. Well, he thought, he didn't want to be here either. He want to go back home, wherever home was. He knew if definitely was not this Roman School. And the girl just kept staring at him, bow and arrow still in her hand. She seemed to be debating whether or not to try to run it though him.

"I'm waiting for a response," the girl said steely.

"Oh. Affirmative," Percy said and smiled. It was like a GI Joe camp.

"Are you mocking me?"

"No ma'am," Percy said aloud, as he silently laughed to himself.

The girl looked him over, trying to detect his lies. She glared at him and focused her attention of Gwen.

"I turn him over to you Reyna," Gwen said.

Percy looked at the two of them. These two girls were friends? He didn't get the impression that this Daughter of Apollo could be friends with anybody.

"Thanks Gwen," Reyna replied, turning to Percy, "Come with me." Percy obediently followed.

"Do you know how to use a bow and arrow?" Reyna asked. Percy simply shrugged. Reyna growled. "Do you know anything but your name?" she fiercely asked.

"Not really," Percy replied.

"Pathetic."

"I remember how to fight," Percy said, annoyed with the girl's attitude.

"So I saw," Reyna testily said. "I hope you're as good with a bow and arrow as you are with a sword."

He wasn't. Percy could not, no matter how hard he tried, or how much Reyna yelled at him, he could not shoot the arrow for his life. It was driving him crazy! By now the Apollo cabin was watching him fail miserably trying to shoot a bull's-eye.

"Wow dude," someone said, "you really suck."

"I know," Percy responded, annoyed. "I always was."

Reyna pounced on the information. "You remember?"

Percy looked at her. "Apparently, but it's just more of a déjà-vu sorta thing."

Reyna looked ready start screaming her lungs out, having lost all patience with Percy over an hour ago. However, Percy was saved a headache when a gong rang for dinner.

Percy silently thanked the gods and followed the Apollo cabin to the dining area. He stood awkwardly as he tried to figure out where to sit.

"That table," Lilly whispered and pointed. Percy nodded and walked over and sat down. Lilly also sat at her own table.

Food appeared and Percy followed the line of people giving offerings to the gods. He then sat at his table and ate in silence. After he finished, he got up and walked away, and he went to the river, ignoring the looks of everyone at the dining pavilion. He sat, leaning up against a tree and stared, just watching the river flow.

"Can I join you?" a voice asked.

Percy looked up and saw Gwen standing behind the tree. She looked nervous.

"Yeah, sure," Percy replied. Gwen slowly sat next to him, and they stared at the flow of the river in silence.

"What are you thinking about?" Gwen suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"My past," Percy replied, "or what I can remember at least."

"Look Percy," Gwen sighed, "I feel bad for you, and I want to help you. I need to get Jason back, or Reyna will probably go crazy."

Percy looked at her, "you care deeply for your friends." Gwen nodded. "I hope mine care as much about me as you do for yours," he continued.

"I'm sure that they are a nervous wreck looking for you," Gwen assured him, "a friendship forms a very strong bond."

"You guys have a good bond?"

"Yeah. I always say that it's easier to cut down a sapling then it is to cut down a redwood."

Percy smiled at her. "If you say so." He glanced over at the noise the children were making as they finished eating and went back to their cabins it was dusk. He glanced at Gwen, who was also looking at them.

"Can I ask a question?" Percy asked.

"You already did, but go ahead," Gwen replied, with a smile.

"Why is there a daughter of Had—Pluto here? I mean, he's not allowed on Mt. Olympus, so…" he trailed off, looking at Gwen, who sighed.

"It is really confusing. Let me just tell you that," Gwen said. "Even I'm not one hundred percent sure about this."

"Just explain."

Gwen nodded. "Ok, so apparently, thirteen years ago, Pluto himself made a house call. Which never happens. A prophecy had been made and Pluto, being the only god of the big three who had a know child brought her here."

"I don't understand."

"Yeah, it's confusing. So Lilly was actually born prior to World War II, and was placed in some hotel in Vegas or something, were time doesn't pass. Her mother was dead, and Pluto wanted her safe or something. No one's really quite sure."

"Then why did he bring her to this place? I mean, wouldn't Ze-Jupiter just incinerate her?"

Gwen sighed again. "Well, a prophecy was made, concerning a child of the Big Three, and in order to fulfill it, I'm assuming Pluto wanted her here."

"What was the prophecy?"

"_A child of the Big Three_

_To tear down Mt. Othyrus will be,_

_If Death takes hold on the way,_

_Only then will they live to see another day_." Gwen recited.

Percy looked at her. "Sounds fantastic."

"Well, it was fulfilled over the summer, but not in the ways that everyone expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Jason arrived a year after Lilly did, so of course everyone hated her now. People don't really like death."

"Yeah, I know," Percy replied.

"Um…so she was ostracized, and pretty much forgotten. I tried to be talk to her, but she wasn't a big talker."

"So, the prophecy….?" Percy reminded Gwen.

"Right, let me just explain it for you." Percy nodded his head in agreement. "OK, so _'a child of the Big Three'_; people thought it was Lilly, but then realized it probably meant Jason. Although they wanted it to be her so she would die."

"Nice people," Percy commented.

Gwen gave him a look, but ignored the comment. '"_To tear down Mt. Othyrus will be'_; pretty self-explanatory, they will destroy Mount Othyrus."

"Yeah, I got that."

"Well, Jason fulfilled that part of the prophecy by defeating the Titan Lord Krios. Next part, '_If Death takes hold along the way'_; we thought that it meant Jason, but it wasn't until after the fighting that we finally figured it out. '_Only then will they live to see another day'_. Hazel finally figured out the last bit after the Titan Krios was defeated. Death wasn't an actual thing here, it was personified. Death was Lilly. So that line '_death takes hold' _really meant that if Lilly agrees to our cause and helps us, only then will we stand triumphant. And it was visible during the battle of Mt. Othyrus, because Lilly finally agreed to help us. She kept a whole army of monster at bay with her own undead army, and that allowed Jason to battle the Titan Lord Krios one-on-one."

"Ok….so she was good in the end, but people still are really scared of her?" Percy inquired.

"Yes. No. Um…." Gwen sighed. "It's actually both. I don't have a problem with her, and neither did Jason too much. Hazel, Bobby, Dakota, Reyna were alright with her as well, though mostly because Jason was. But," she continued, a hint of frustration in her voice, "she makes it really hard to be friends. Jupiter knows I've tried, but she gives you this look, and you're scared beyond belief. But most people here trust her. They're scared, but the trust her. She's the leader now, although Jake wants her gone."

"Who's Jake a son of?

"Mars."

"Of course he is," Percy muttered to himself.

"Is that the only thing that was bothering you Percy?" Gwen asked, concerned.

"No, but I somehow feel that I know someone like Lilly. THAT'S what's bothering me."

"Sorry, but I can't help you there," Gwen replied, sorry she couldn't help him more.

"It's fine. It's nice to talk to somebody without them either not looking at me or being all mysterious."

Gwen laughed. "No problem, don't worry about it Percy. I can understand that you're feeling so lost and confused right now. I hate when people are sad, sometimes Dakota says I can't leave well enough alone."

"Why does he say that?"

"Um….well…." Gwen blushed. "I usually stop everything I'm doing to help someone or something, and one time I almost got shot with an arrow in capture the flag." She laughed, but was still blushing.

Percy smiled, "Well thanks for helping me."

"Not a problem, like I said before." She looked at her watch. "I should go back to my cabin now. Don't stay here too long, or you might break curfew."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll remember."

"Just don't say I didn't warn you." Gwen waved goodbye and headed back over to the Ceres cabin. Percy watched her walk away, and went back to staring at the river as he digested all of the new information that he learned.

* * *

**OK, so yay! it's me again. **

**Couple things:**

**1) Percy will not love Gwen. Gwen is someone who just seems to get along with everyone. Someone who just can't stand to see things suffer. **

**2) the prophecy was all me, so I hope it was good. **

**3)Thanks to all who read this! And a special thanks to all those that reviewed! :)**

**4) Please review! Thanks! (you totally knew this was coming, didn't you?)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the wait, I didn't have internet. So even though this was done Tuesday, it's not up til now.

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**

Percy woke up to the sound of fighting. He rolled his eyes and got out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to the window to find the source of the commotion. He looked and saw Gwen and another girl who was yelling at a tall, bear-like boy. He was towering over the screaming girl, but even he seemed to be a little wary of her.

"…And can't believe you would even think to suggest that!" she yelled, and Gwen was blushing and looking at the ground.

"But—" the guy went to say.

"—Oh wait, that right; you don't think at all! You seem to think that you can just plow into things without thinking, or make something that will explode without even considering how dangerous it could be. Your stupid contraptions—"

"Hey! Don't you dare insult what we make! You may be smart, but without us your _brilliant_ plans wouldn't work!"

"Um…..guys?" Gwen softly asked, noticing Percy in the window.

"I really can't believe that you had the guts—"

"—idiot girl, and I can't imagine—"

"—you dare, and you know I'm right—"

"—go back to—"

"—well you can just go and—"

"GUYS!" Gwen yelled. They both paused in the midst of their verbal battle to look at her.

"What?" they simultaneously asked. Gwen pointed to where Percy was standing in the window, watching them and shaking with laughter. The two of them blushed, but not for long.

"Percy Jackson, I'm assuming," the girl said.

"Well duh!" the boy replied, "he's in Neptune's cabin. Or maybe he is Neptune! No way!"

"Shut up Dakota!" the girl turned around and screamed at him.

"So…Percy…."Gwen said, clearing her throat and trying to take control of the situation, "this guy is Dakota, and this is Hazel."

Percy nodded and waved to the two of them. They didn't see him, as they were too busy staring daggers at each other.

"I'll get dressed and be right out…" Percy commented.

"No need," Hazel said huffily, "we didn't come here to get you."

"Yeah," Dakota interrupted, "we kinda did."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I refuse!"

"Clearly. You're so stupid sometimes!"

"Stop it guys! Please?" Gwen pleaded.

"Fine. Know that the alliance is broken. I'm out for your blood tonight."

Dakota replied to that statement with a very rude gesture and Hazel turned around and stormed away.

Percy was so confused at this point. He quickly threw on a pair of pants and pulled a t-shirt over his head as he ran out the door.

"What is going on?" he asked Dakota and Gwen. "I'm so confused! What was the argument about? I didn't cause any problems did I?" He directed the last question at Gwen, who gave him a grim smile.

"Not too many," she responded.

"We," Dakota broke in, "I mean, Hazel and I, had a disagreement about capture-the-flag."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not quite sure what that has to do with me," Percy said.

"You were the main focus of our little…spat," Dakota told Percy.

"I was?" Percy asked, incredulous.

"Yeah."

Percy looked at Gwen in confusion.

"Hey!" she laughed, "Don't look at me, I'm simply the peacekeeper here."

"No, you're on my side," Dakota corrected her grinning.

"My cabin is allied with you?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah," Dakota replied, "Rose and I worked something out."

"Mmmm-hhmmmm," Gwen gave him a grin.

"Hey! Are you implying—"

"Guys?" Percy interrupted, wanting to stop another argument, "um….what does this have to do with me?"

"Oh, right," Dakota said, "well, I wanted you on our team, but Hazel seemed to be really against it. Maybe she felt that you'd take Jason's place. But I'm sure Jason would still want us to win. I mean, his team's got a reputation to maintain." He gave a smile, but Percy could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I will gladly give Jason back his spot when he gets back," Percy said. Dakota smiled when Percy mentioned Jason coming back to the Roman Legion School.

"You really think he'll come back?" Dakota was dead serious now, and Gwen look hopefully at Percy, waiting for his response.

"Yeah, I think he will. And if you guys want to find him, I'm with you all the way."

Dakota and Gwen smiled at him.

"Thanks man," Dakota said, "that means a lot."

"It's no problem," Percy told him, "I want to help your camp. And I want people to trust me."

"I do man," Dakota said, "you probably would have already blown us up otherwise."

"Um…thanks…." Percy responded, confused as whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing.

"Yeah," Gwen laughed, "your logic has trapped many spies, eh Kody?"

"Shut it you!" Dakota replied, but he was smiling. Percy joined in the laughter.

"Um….Excuse me?" a new voice asked. The three of them turned to see a girl with blonde hair leaning against a tree, looking at them.

"Yes Hannah?" Gwen asked.

"Hazel sent me to notify you that it is time for Mr. Jackson's lessons."

"Thanks Hannah," Gwen told the girl, while Dakota snorted.

"She's gonna kill you," Kody said, "you're in for one Hades of a lesson."

"What will she teach him?" Gwen directed the question at Hannah, who shrugged.

"Um…the usual, I guess. Latin, strategy, but I'm not sure how she'll teach him history."

Gwen nodded in understanding, while Percy just looked confused. He actually had to learn at this place? And another language at that? He had enough trouble reading English. By what power of Zeus would he ever be able to learn and be able to read Latin? He groaned. Fantastic.

"Come on Son of Neptune, I don't have all day," Hannah interrupted his thoughts.

"Errr…..right, coming," Percy hastily said, following Hannah. He turned and waved to Gwen and Dakota, the latter who was visibly laughing at him.

Hannah led Percy to the Main House, and down a corridor to, in Percy's opinion, a random classroom. Hazel was waiting. She gave Hannah a nod, who nodded in return and left. Hazel pointed to a desk and chair right in front of her. Percy groaned internally and sat down.

He was handed a piece of paper.

"I can read this!" he exclaimed, elated.

"What does it say?" Hazel asked.

""_A child of the Big Three_

_To tear down Mt. Othyrus will be,_

_If Death takes hold on the way,_

_Only then will they live to see another day," _Percy read.

"Ok," Hazel said. "Good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Um….." Percy replied.

"Ok, good news first. That's in Greek, and you can read Greek better than you can read English. Bad news, you need to learn Latin."

Percy groaned. "Really?"

"Yep," Hazel replied with a slightly evil grin. "Let's begin. A first conjugation verb has –o, -are, -avi, -atum. An example of this is the verb pugno, pugnare, pugnavi, pugnatum, which means to fight."

'Of course it would,' Percy thought.

"To conjugate this verb, cut off the –re and use that as your base. Except for first person singular, for that use the first principle part. Here's a sample." She handed him a piece of paper. "And the ending are –o/m, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt." Percy looked at the paper and groaned again. This could take awhile.

_Pugno, pugnare, pugnavi, pugnatum: to fight_

_ Singluar Plural_

_Pugno = I fight 1. Pugnamus= we fight_

_Pugnas= you fight 2. Pugnatis= you all/ you (plural) fight_

_Pugnat= he/she/it fights 3. Pugnant= they fight_

Percy looked up at Hazel, who handed him another slip of paper. "Conjugate these please." Percy looked down at the list.

_Nuntio, nuntiare, nuntiavi, nuntatum: to announce_

_ Aedifico, aedificare, aedificavi, aedificatum: to build_

_ Spero, sperare, speravi, speratum: to hope_

_ Spiro, spirare, spiravi, spiratum: to breathe. _

Percy dutifully began to conjugate the verbs. All the while he cursed whoever brought him to this place, forcing him to learn this crazy language.

**

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**

**Alright, so a couple things to address.**

**1) Thank you everyone who reviewed! It means a lot !**

**2) Hannah in the story is not model after Annabeth, but rather my friend Hannah, who is most definitely a daughter of Minerva. :) **

**3) I will have a Camp Half Blood chapter up soon, as I'm really beginning to miss Jason , Leo, Piper, and the gang as well. **

**4) I love you all! You make me happy with your reviews and support. **

**That's all! Thanks and please review! **

**=D**


	8. Chapter 8

Percy sighed as he looked up from his conjugated verbs. Hazel had also taught him the 2ed and 3rd declension verbs and his head was spinning.

"Are you ready to move on?" Hazel asked Percy, who currently had had his hands holding up his head. He looked up at her and sighed.

"Am I learning another grammar thing or something?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Actually, no," Hazel replied, coming over to the lone desk where he sat and gathering up his papers. "I am now going to teach you history."

"At least this'll be in English," Percy grumbled. Hazel raised her eyebrows, but gave no other indication that she had heard him.

"Alright," Hazel began, "we are going to start with King Arthur and the Middle Ages. I'm assuming you don't remember about them?"

"I don't ever think I actually paid attention in school," Percy said truthfully. Hazel rolled her eyes.

"Very well. The Legend of King Arthur and his knights. Arthur was actually a child of Mars. He would rarely lose a battle because of the blessing of his father. Merlin, the magician, was a very powerful child of Hecate. Mordred was a child of Pluto. Arthur and Merlin fought against Mordred on Jupiter' wishes. Unfortunately, Mordred, being the son of the god of death, was finally able to overcome Arthur and kill him. Arhtur's knights were the sons of various gods and goddesses, as well. That is the reason that King Arthur and his knights were so powerful; they had the blessings of the gods."

Percy dutifully noted it all down, annoyed that Hazel spoke so fast and jumbled all the facts together. "Why did Zeus, sorry, Jupiter, not send his own son or kid to fight Mordred?"

"Well," Hazel said, "Uthur Pendragon, Arthur's father, was actually a child of Jupiter."

"That explains so much," Percy muttered under his breath.

Hazel glanced at her watch. "We need to hurry, as I need to talk to present at my cabin when plans are made for tonight."

"Capture the flag?" Percy asked. Hazel nodded.

Hazel began to talk more about the Middle Ages and things, and Percy tried to remember everything that she said. After about twenty minutes, she faltered. Percy looked up, surprised that she had stopped.

"What is it?" he asked.

Hazel hesitated. "It's… it's nothing," she said. A pause. "Alright, well, the thing is I'm not sure how to teach you about Greece and Rome."

"Why?" Percy asked, his head already hurting from the multiple Latin rules in his head mixing with the information of the Middle Ages. Why not add a little more confusion to it all.

"Because, even though you don't remember it, you were taught Greek history," Hazel explained, pulling over a chair and sitting across from him. "And that is vastly different from how we are taught here and the subject matter that is taught."

Realization suddenly dawned on Percy. "So is that how you knew I was a Greek demi-god?" he asked.

Hazel sighed, rubbing her temples. "Kind of. Alright, first let me explain what we teach in history, because that might be easier. We teach that the Greeks were, erm…a weaker group of people that were taken over by a more superior civilization and destroyed because of their weakness " she said it all very fast, as a hope not to offend Percy.

"Ah…okay," Percy slowly said, thinking.

"Sorry," Hazel blushed.

"It's fine," Percy told her. "I can sort of get the reason why people might distrust me. But how did you know about the Greek demi-gods?"

Hazel again sighed. "A few years ago, we had one child of Minerva who figured it out. He was doing research, and came to the realization that if there were Roman demi-gods, there had to be Greek demi-gods. He managed to locate a forgotten book that mentioned the children of both Roman and Greek gods. He confronted Lupa, and she swore everyone to secrecy. We had our prejudices from what we learned in history, so when we found out you were a Greek demi-god, the camp wasn't sure how to react."

"How did you know I was a Greek?" Percy asked.

"You spoke Greek," was Hazel's reply. "And Jake wanted to run you through with a spear, but thankfully Lilith stopped him. You were really lucky that Lupa also wanted you to live as well."

Hazel paused and looked at him. "There is something going on here, and I hate not knowing. And I can feel that it has something to do with you and Jason, and it bothers me that I don't know!"

"Sorry," Percy muttered, not quite sure how to respond.

Hazel sighed. "It's not your fault. And before, well, I didn't mean for you to overhear Dakota and I fighting, but…" she trailed off.

"Don't worry about it," Percy tried to assure her, but she continued after her initial paused.

"I just thought that you would take over for Jason," Hazel told him softly, "that people just accepted that he was gone, and that you would be the replacement. It wasn't fair of me, so…" she paused again, unsure about herself.

"Really, don't worry about it," Percy said again. "It's fine." He did not want to be the cause of the unbending of pride for the daughter of Minerva. He knew from experience that Athena/Minerva's children were extremely prideful, and did not enjoy apologizing. Being the cause of the apology was never a good thing.

Hazel looked up at him in understanding. "Thanks," she whispered.

There was a knock on the door, and Hannah was standing in the doorway.

"Hazel," she said, without looking at Percy, "the time for lessons is over. Come on. Bridget wants you back at the Cabin, pronto."

Hazel nodded and got up from her chair. "Percy," she turned back to him. "Please work on those Latin verbs and meanings. See you at the game tonight. And a fair warning," she exchanged a look with Hannah, "watch out because we play without mercy." She and Hannah laughed as they walked out of the classroom.

Percy watched them leave, and when they had vanished from sight, he sighed at put his head in his hands. He would have to contend with Latin words, crazy Roman kids, and a vicious game called Capture the Flag. What a night this was going to be!

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**OK, hope you enjoyed it. I'm also hoping that this clears up how the Romans know about the Greeks. If anyone is still confused, just let me know. **

**One reviewer asked if i updated every Wednesday. The answer is no. I update whenever I want to or can. Sorry, I'm not a schedule person :)**

**As always, reviews make me extremely happy! **


	9. Chapter 9

**OK,so very important: I want everyone to post a review or PM with a battle cry or taunt. I will then translate it to Latin. The next chapter is going to be Capture the flag,and it's gonna to get rough. I beseech you all to provide me with plenty of material for the Romans to yell at each other.**

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An explosion came from the archery range. Piper rolled her eyes and looked over to see what cause the commotion. Sure enough, Leo and his cabin mates were in the midst of a skirmish with the Ares cabin. Piper turned back to face Jason, who gave her a wry smile. Annabeth shot the fighting cabins a look, and started to stand. Piper caught her arm.

"Don't worry," Piper said, smiling at them. "I can handle this." She turned her attention to the archery range. "Guys," Piper called, "why don't you stop fighting? You're giving Annabeth a headache. And I'm sure that—"

"She's charmspeaking you all!" a girl called out viciously. Piper, Annabeth, and Jason turned to find the former head councilor of the Aphrodite cabin, Drew, stalking up to the group. "Don't listen to her!" They cabins ceased fighting, but only for a moment.

"Get those stupid forge-workers!" an Ares camper called, and the attack launched again.

"I wasn't charmspeaking Drew!" Piper told the girl. "It was a request!"

"Whatever," Drew sneered, "with you, it's the same thing."

"No, it's not," Piper corrected. "I don't charmspeak unless it's necessary."

"Like Hades," Drew huffed. "You're such a pathetic, lovesick little girl. One quest and you think you're something special?"

"Drew," Piper pleaded, trying to avoid a fight, "please just let it go."

Annabeth looked ready to kill Drew, the Ares cabin, Hephaestus cabin, and anyone who got in her way, in no particular order. Piper and Drew were staring daggers at each other, Jason was holding Annabeth back, who was holding her knife, and the two cabins continued to fight, unaware of the danger in Annabeth's eyes and the trouble they were about to be in.

"Enough," a young male voice commanded. Jason, Annabeth, Piper, and Drew turned around and stared at the young boy that had just appeared out of the shadows. Of the four campers, Annabeth was the only one that didn't looked scared out of Tartus. The two cabins were still fighting. The boy rolled his eyes at how oblivious they were.

"Serve me," he murmured as he pulled out a black iron sword. Piper and Jason gasped as undead soldiers skeletons came up from the ground and began attacking the two fighting cabins. A scream was let out as the campers realized that they were under attack by skeletons. As soon as the skeletons had captured the two cabins attentions, the disappeared.

"She said be quite," the boy said in a low voice. "She should not have to repeat herself. And you should all show Annabeth some respect; she is our most experienced camper." The cabins stared at the boy in shock and awe.

"Everyone can leave now," he said, sheathing his sword and walking over to where Annabeth sat. The campers quickly dispersed.

"Leo," Annabeth called, "could you come here?" Leo detached himself from the crowd and stood, looking nervous in front of Annabeth.

"Um…yeah?" he questioned, looking at his feet.

"We need to talk about the Argo 2.0," Annabeth told him. Leo visibly relaxed.

"Ok, what about it?" Leo asked. He still avoided eye contact with the strange boy.

"How is it coming?" Annabeth sighed.

"Alright for now," Leo told her, "but it still needs some work."

" That's a given," Annabeth sighed again.

"Wait," the boy said, "what's this about a second Argo?"

The boy's question shook Jason out of his shock. Ste pulled out a short sword from behind the log that he was sitting on. "Who are you? And what do you want?" Jason asked the boy.

"I am here to help Annabeth" he replied, as though it were obvious. "And I am Nico, son of Hades."

"Son of Hades?" Jason questioned. He, along with Piper and Leo, looked a little nervous.

"Yes," Nico replied, "and you are?" he questioned.

Jason straightened. "I am Jason, Son of Jupiter."

"You mean Zeus, right?" Nico asked.

"No Nico," Annabeth said, "He's a son of Jupiter, Zeus' Roman counterpart."

"You lost me," Nico told Annabeth.

"There are Roman demigods and well as Greek demigods," Annabeth explained, "and their existence has been kept secret from each other for…erm…past reasons. And, well… Hera decided to interfere because of… certain things… and Jason is here from the Roman demigod camp. And… and…we think that she sent Percy over to the Roman Camp."

"Why isn't he coming back here then?" Nico asked. Jason was surprised that Nico so quickly accepted the fact that there were Roman demigods. He voiced that opinion. Nico looked at him and Jason saw his dark, almost black, eyes for the first time. It scared Jason, and made him look down at his own feet.

"I easily accepted the fact that you are part of the Roman demigods, and they exist, because it makes sense. Otherwise, Zeus would have used you to try and control the prophecy."

"What?" Jason asked, confused.

"There was a prophecy made that said a child of the Big Three would either destroy or save Olympus," Annabeth explained. "Over the years, there were four children of the Big Three. First there was Thaila, your sister,"

"You're Thalia's brother?" Nico asked startled.

Jason nodded and Annabeth said, "I'll fill you in later."

"You better," Nico told her.

"Anyway, Thalia was turned into a tree—"

"What?" Jason exclaimed. Nico also looked confused.

"Later," Annabeth said, continuing, "So after Thailia came Percy—"

"—who actually fulfilled the prophecy," Nico informed the general group.

"Yes," Annabeth sighed at yet another interruption, "anyway, a few years after Percy came to camp, our friend Grover, the satyr, found Nico and Bianca. At the time we didn't realize that the di Angelos were children of Hades. Bianca joined the hunters of Artemis, but then she died on a quest. Nico—"

"—lived, obviously," he stated. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"And then Percy fulfilled the prophecy." Annabeth finished.

"So therefore," Nico said, "Zeus would have tried to bring you into the picture to make sure that Percy or myself didn't fulfill the prophecy. I think he thought that both of us would destroy him."

"I can see you doing that Nico," Annabeth teased, a slight smile coming to her face. Nico just rolled his eyes.

"Wow," Leo finally said, breaking the silence. Nico turned to face him.

"Sorry, I don't remember you guys. Who are you?" Nico asked.

"I am Leo, Son of Hephaestus," Leo introduced himself.

"And I am Piper, Daughter of Aphrodite," Piper said.

"Nice to meet the two of you," Nico said. "But down to business; what's the Argo? Where's Percy? And how are we going to get him back?"

Leo grinned. "Let me tell you about the Argo 2.0…"

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please give me taunts, teases and whatever. **

**Amabo te!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Before you throw me into Tartus, I want to apologize for the long delay in my update. Its Christmas, then I spent lots of time shoveling, then I didn't have internet connection, and then I decided I didn't really like the chapter, so I re-wrote it. :)**

**Sorry, hope you forgive me and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer for this Chapter and the next: any of the taunts/ batle cries that were sent in by reviewers are not mine. THANK YOU ALL!**

* * *

Percy walked out of the classroom and Main House only to be surrounded by a bunch of Roman demigods.

"What team you on kid?" a burly kid asked. Everyone else stopped. It seemed as if they were arguing with each other. And from the way everyone stopped to suddenly pay attention to his answer, Percy assumed that it had, once again, been about him.

"Um…" Percy was surprised by all the faces staring at him intently. "I'm allied with the Vulcan Cabin, so which every team that is." His statement was met with both groans and joyous cheers.

"Ha!" one kid with a mischievous face screamed. "I told you! This Greek's smart; he choose the winning side. Three cheers for the Blue team!" A bunch of other kids that teachers would immediately peg as trouble-makers began cheering. A group of sulky kids left the area with rude gestures at those remaining.

The kid who caused all the problems turned to Percy. He looked about thirteen, with sandy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Percy didn't trust his innocent looking face for one minute; this kid was trouble. "Hello," the boy came up to Percy and held out his hand. "I'm Cam, son of Mercury." Percy recalled that Mercury, among other things, was the god of thieves. He mentally reminded himself to not leave anything lying around near this kid.

"Percy Jackson," Percy told him, shaking his outstretched hand. "Son of Neptune."

"No duh!" a girl called out, rolling her eyes. Laughter could be heard at her comment.

"Shut it Sarah!" someone else shouted. Cam rolled his eyes. The girl named Sarah walked up to Percy. He could see that she was about fifteen, with wild, bushy hair, freckles, blue eyes, and a smile that made him immediately assume she was up to no good. Her facial expression made him trust Cam more than her. Sarah seized him up, a calculating look on her face. She suddenly grinned, and Percy wanted to shiver at what he was sure was concealed behind that look.

"I'll see you later, Percy Jackson," Sarah said. "We need to go, Cam." She turned and walked away, and the rest of the kids followed her, except for Cam. Percy stared at the boy awkwardly, wondering why he was still there.

"Come on," Cam said, turning and motioning for Percy to follow. "I'm to bring you to Brian, the head of our cabin. We need to go over strategy for the game tonight." Percy almost had to run in order to keep up with the young child. A few minutes later, Percy was led into the Mercury Cabin. Sitting around the table were nine people, some of which he recognized, some of which he didn't, all looking at him.

One of the older demigods, who looked about eighteen, got up and walked over to Percy and Cam. He pulled the latter into a brotherly hug. He extended his hand to Percy. "I'm Brian," the youth said, "Head of the Mercury Cabin." Percy shook his hand and Brian continued, "I see you have already met Cam, my protégée and third in our chain of command. And our second in command is Bobby." Percy smiled as he recognized the familiar face. Bobby smiled back and waved.

"And I'm Rose," a pretty girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen, sitting at the table announced, "Head of the Ceres Cabin. Our second in command is Violet," Rose motioned to the girl sitting to her right, "and Gwen, whom I believe you've met, is third in command," Rose motioned to Gwen, who was sitting to her left. Percy nodded in acknowledgement.

"Percy," Dakota called from his chair and waved hello. "I'm the head of the Vulcan Cabin. After me the chain of command goes to Riley," the tough-looking girl to his right nodded at Percy, "and then Pat," a burly red-head kid smiled at Percy and waved as well.

"Thanks for inviting me to your team," Percy told them.

"Dude," Cam called, "with you on our team, we're definitely going to win!" Cam was the youngest person there, but the other heads of the cabins smiled at him, used to his antics. Percy grinned at his enthusiasm.

"I hope I don't disappoint you," Percy told them.

"Nonsense," Dakota boomed, "you're pretty much invincible, and you've probably got amazing powers. You'll do fine. Besides, if you really suck, we've got plenty of things that will explode!" Rose rolled her eyes at this comment.

"Anyway," she said, taking charge. "We need to make a plan. Cam informed me prior that he overheard Jake, JC, and Jack talking. They and their cabin plan on 'testing' Percy."

"I'll provide a distraction," Percy immediately said, his mind whirling. "I'll stand by the creek or something; somewhere where I'll be easily visible. Then three of them, whoever they are, will come to fight with me, and their cabin will follow. That could leave an opening for you guys and less people to fight. That's just an idea of course," Percy quickly added, not sure how the Romans would respond.

Rose smiled. "Not a bad plan. And as for Jake, JC, and Jack, they are the Heads of the Mars Cabin. That's their order, and JC, their second, is a girl. But don't let that fool you; she's vicious."

Bobby snorted at that and turned to Dakota. "Remember with Sarah?" Dakota started cracking up, and Gwen was giggling. The other Heads were smiling as well.

"Back to the game tonight," Rose said, back to business. "Percy, that was not a bad idea at all. I will station you and Cam by the river. You've both annoyed the Mars cabin that they will gladly take this opportunity to fight you."

"You and me, Aquaman," Cam shouted, and held up his hand for a high-five. Percy smiled and gave him a high-five. Rose and Violet looked at each other and shook their heads.

"However," Rose continued, "I will station a few extra campers in the forest surrounding you; in case they attempt to kill either of you." Percy didn't know whether she was joking or not.

"Rose and I," Dakota said, "will lead the left flank to capture the flag, and Riley and Bobby will take the right flank. Brian will take center. Our cabin has provided many explosives, and I'll distribute those among the groups."

"Rose and Kody," Gwen spoke for the first time, "you two should split up. Reyna is going to be looking for Kody, and she'll position herself to be near the flag." She pointed to Dakota, "You and Violet should take some of the kids of Mercury and draw Reyna away from the flag. That leaves Rose and her group the ability to go and take it. Then the others can provide cover."

"You could give Pat and Ailish the flag," Riley suggested. "She's the fastest child of Mercury. And Pat invented something the other day that makes the wearer be camouflaged with their surroundings. The two of them could quickly make it back to our base, under that cover."

Everyone was impressed with that. Brian looked over at the boy, who was looking at the table to avoid looking at everyone else. "And you're what? Fourteen?" Percy was shocked that this muscular and burly kid was only fourteen, but dismissed it because he was extremely impressed with what the boy was able to do.

"Yeah," Pat replied, barely looking up.

"And you've managed to create that? By yourself?" Brain asked, incredulous. Pat looked up at him and nodded. "When did you start? And how come no one knew?"

"I started last month," Pat replied in his deep voice, "I was going to tell everyone when I was perfect. I didn't want to make something that didn't work just so the Mars cabin could make fun of me. Or the Mercury Cabin just steal it." The children of said god look at the table, abashed.

Dakota patted Pat on the back. "Smart move man. Is it complete? And how come Riley knew and I did not?"

"It works," Pat replied.

"And I found him working on it yesterday morning," Riley answered her Head. "That's what does when he's up before us."

"Most impressive," Rose complimented, and Pat blushed. "And I'm sure it will work perfectly. So, final plan. Percy and Cam will provided with a bit of a distraction. There will be a small border patrol, with a few people watching the two of them. Brian will take the center route to the flag with most of the Mercury cabin and a few members of the Ceres and Vulcan cabins. Riley and Bobby will lead the right flank, with majority of the Vulcan cabin and a few children of Mercury and Ceres. Dakota and I will be leading the remaining to the left flank. When Reyna is in sight, Dakota and the children of Mercury in the group, except for Ailish, will follow you. I will then led the remaining to the flag, where Pat and Ailish will take the flag and bring it back to the base. Everyone else will cover them. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads no, and Rose stood up. "Very well. *Ars est prothoplastus step ut victor. Bonus Fortuna vobis totus.

"**Et tu!" everyone else replied back.

"Go and prepare," Brian order. "The game starts soon."

* * *

Percy, in his armor and Riptide in hand, was waiting for the start signal by the river with Cam, who also had on his armor and a sword. The younger boy was full of energy, and would not stop talking. He was currently smirking at the story that Cam was telling.

"—and then Bobby was so busy being chased by Reyna that he didn't look where he was going and ran into Jake, who started to beat the crap out of him. So then, I went up and gave him and wedgie. I didn't have any weapons, and I could just let that happen to him, so I worked with what I had. So that's one reason they aren't too happy with me…it only happened a few days ago."

Percy began to laugh, as Cam explained one on the reason the Mars cabin was mad at him. "You did that? Wow, and they haven't killed you yet?"

"Brian goes everywhere with me," Cam told him, "because he's was afraid that they would try."

"That's a good idea," Percy agreed. "And I'll have your back tonight."

"And I yours, Aquaman."

"Why do you call me that?"

"What?"

"Aquaman."

"Oh. He's a comic character that ruled Atlantis. I just figured that you're a son a Poseidon, and I could picture you being the comic book hero."

"Oh."

"What me to stop?" Cam asked, worriedly.

"No man, it's fine," Percy assured him. Somewhere off in the distance, a gong sounded.

"It's started," Cam whispered happily. Percy was not feeling the same way that Cam did.

Shout were heard off in the distance. Percy was able to make one child shouting "Burn in the fire of the sun!"

Cam heard it as well. "That's the Apollo kids," he told Percy, rolling his eyes. "They think they're such hot stuff." Percy would have commented further, but a blood-curling yell stopped him. Coming over the hill were about fifteen to twenty big figures covered in armor and carrying lots of deadly weapons. At the sight of them, Percy was thankful that he was almost invincible.

"Look what we have here," one of the sneered. "It's the Greek with the little devil."

"That's Jake," Cam whispered. Percy didn't know why the kid told him this; his name didn't make the kid any less intimidating.

"How cute," a girl said sarcastically and stepped forward.

"JC," Cam informed Percy.

"***Run lemma per!_," _she ordered. With that the warriors charged down the hill, screaming obscene things at them as they ran. Percy looked over and braced himself for the onslaught. He glanced over at Cam. The younger boy smiled and nodded at him as he too, braced himself.

"****Tu tardus quam a snail_,_" Cam called at them, "hurry up, I only have so long to wait to whoop your butts!" Percy want to laugh at the kid's guts, but the swipe of the sword at his head alerted him that the fight had begun.

* * *

*_Strategy is the first step to winning. Good Luck to you all._

**and to you.

*** _Run them through!_

_**** You're slower than a snail_

* * *

**So...like it?:) Any more taunts or whatever, feel free to tell m_e._**

**Please review! Thanks to all who read this! **


	11. Chapter 11

Lilly stood, unnoticed in the shadows of the trees. The game had begun, and there was no way she was going to miss out on the show this was going to become. She wished she could say that she missed playing capture-the-flag, but the truth was that she had never played before. Lupa had forbidden it, and frankly, no one wanted her on their team.

She knew of the alliances of tonight, of course. The Red Team consisted of the children of Minerva, Mars, Apollo, Venus, and Bacchus. The opposing Blue Team had the Vulcan, Neptune, Ceres, and Mercury demigods. The teams were pretty fair, and the tension in the air only made the half-bloods more determined to win.

BOOM! An explosion sounded off in the distance. Lilly smiled. The Vulcan cabin was extremely good at making explosives.

"SARAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the cry pierced the quiet night. Lilly allowed herself a small chuckle. One of the Campers in the Mercury Cabin was Sarah, Daughter of Discordia, goddess of discord and strife. This was followed by many more explosions, varying from large and small. Cries of outrage, pain, and a lot a swearing accompanied this. Lilly was about to laugh again, but stopped, as she sense people near her.

"(1)Tua tam pinguis matre quod accepit adhesit in Grand Canyon," Lilly heard a Son of Mercury say to a Daughter of Venus.

"(2)Tu troglodyta insulsam!" the girl replied as she wacked the boy over the head with her sword, her face ablaze with fury. "My Mother's the most beautiful thing out there. Unless you want to be cursed to look like even more of a fool for the rest of your life, you better shut your thieving mouth!"

Lilly snickered. Of course Venus' daughter would over-react to an insult like that. And this was only in the first fifteen minutes of the game. This would be an excellent form of entertainment.

"(3)Lambunt usque estis ignavi et quasi confligito miles verus pro latent dum horror stuporem tua miserabilis sagittis necessaruim," Lilly heard the far off call. It was probably the Vulcan Cabin trying to draw the Children of Apollo out from their cover of the trees. She was about to go watch the trouble between them, when a small sound caused her to change her mind.

"(4)Dividite et vincas," Lilly heard a whisper from her left. She stayed unmoving and unnoticed in the dark shadows that surrounded her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Rose ordering her troops. With a silent nod, the group split in half, and Rose led her half deeper into the shadows of the woods.

Lilly smiled. She heard that Dakota and Reyna had argued previously this morning. There was no way that she was going to miss this fight. Making no noise, Lilly followed Dakota to where the Red Flag was stationed. She saw Reyna, Apollo's daughter, Hazel, Hannah, and John, all children of Minerva, along with the only three children of Bacchus at the School, BC and Kate and Kim, who were twins, guarding the flag.

With a silent nod from Dakota, Steve, another Son of Mercury, sauntered into the clearing, with a smug smile on his face. "Oh look! It's the drunks and the brainiacs. Wouldn't have thought you two groups could even stand to be in each other's presence. I mean, really? Half of you would spend college passed-out and failing all your classes, and the other half would have no life at all. You're all such a bunch of losers."

The seven guardians of the flags faces' turned into a scowl. BC went to attack Steve, but Hazel grabbed his arm. "It's a trick," she hissed. Don't let him bait you."

"And how well you allowed yourself to be baited," Dakota taunted as Hazel whipped her head around and found a sword's point at her throat. "Maybe's you're losing some of your IQ there Haz, you should have seen this strategy coming. Use the senses that your mother gave you."

"You know, the big googly eyes, and the never-ending question of 'who? who? who?' when you wonder which cabin beat you," Shea came out from behind Steve and mocked the children of

Minerva by making wide eyes at them. The two Sons of Mercury began to laugh.

At their laughter, John grabbed his sword, leaped to challenge Shea. He only laughed as he began to parry the strikes with his shield. At the same time, BC also drew his sword and he began to fight with Steve.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Steve asked, "'cause you're handling your sword like you're drunk!" BC managed to disarm Steve.

"Still think I'm a drunk?" he spat. Steve shrugged his shoulders and punched BC in the face. Caught by surprise, BC staggered away.

"Eh," Steve nonchalantly said, "you still seem a little tipsy to me."

"(5)You Minotaur!" Kim screamed as she ran over with her knife and fire in her eyes. She proceeded to deliver an uppercut to the jaw. Steve ducked as Kate came with her knife, took a swipe at him as she passed, and continued to attack the others that came out of the woods and help Hannah defend the flag.

Hazel had gotten away from Dakota because Reyna had engaged him in a sword fight of their own. Hazel looked up and saw more blue helmets coming straight at them.

"More! Look ahead!" Hazel yelled as Brain and a few of his men came through to offer their assistance. Lilly noticed that many had been left to fight their own one-on-one battles. She shook her head; in the sight of reinforcements and blinded by their own personal battles, no one on the red team was watching the flag. Lilly quickly glanced at the flag, and saw a small, petite girl scampered and grab it. She raced back to a red-headed boy. He handed her something, and then the two of them disappeared! Lilly narrowed her eyes and scanned the shadows. They weren't gone, they were simply concealed. She had to admit that it was quite an ingenious device. She watched the two children, Pat and Ailish, quickly and quietly make their way back to their borders. Lilly smiled. This was a very good game of capture-the-flag. Sometimes it was better to be a spectator rather than a player. And watching the other demigods fight and miss the flag getting carried away from under their noses was definitely one of those times.

Lilly glanced back and forth between the two leaving with the flag, Rose and her group covering them, and the fighting taking place in front of her. Deciding which group she had better follow, she silently moved with the shadows as she walked with the camouflaged two in front of her.

* * *

"Hello little Greek," the one swinging the sword said to Percy. Percy ducked and retaliated with Riptide. "Here, at this School, we have an Orientation session. It's called kill the Greek!" Percy ducked as the sword came at his head again. He may be invincible, but he wasn't stupid. There was no way he was going to let this child of Mars push him around.

"(6)Erre es korakas!" Percy replied. He didn't reply to that, so Percy guessed that he had confused him. He used that to his advantage and shoved him face first into the river. And for good measure, he caused a wave to topple over him.

"(7)Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy shouted elated. One down, a bunch more to go.

"Yeah Aquaman!" Cam called, tripping his opponent into the water. Percy disarmed another demigod who was charging at him.

CLANG. Percy panicked for Cam's safety. He looked over to see Cam with a goofy grin on his face and a child of Mars staggering away.

"Bashed in his helmet," Cam said as way of explanation. "Watch out!" Percy turned at slashed at the person who had tried to attack him. He fell, but got right back up.

A rustle from the trees caused everyone to look at the hill. Four demigods came down the hill and engaged the Mars' children in combat.

Two of them were coming at Percy. He fought with them for a minute or so, then disarmed them and caused a wave to pull them into the creek. He looked around, and saw that the other demigods on the Blue Team had been chased off by those on the Red team. That left six by the river; four children of Mars, himself, and Cam.

"We got this Aquaman!" Cam shouted, bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to face those remaining. Then Percy and Cam stood back to back, and began to spar with the four that had surrounded them. Percy was viciously fighting when he heard a cry of pain. He shoved his elbow into the Mars kid's nose, and leveled his sword, ready to find out who was in pain and why.

Percy narrowed his eyes in anger at what he saw. Cam was held tight by the biggest Roman demigod in the clearing. He was held around the middle with his arms pinned to his sides, and his face was in an expression of immense pain.

"Don't do anything further, Jackson," an ugly voice warned. Percy glared at the person speaking, who was taking off their helmet. Percy recognized him as the one who wanted to kill him the minute that he had awoke at this school.

"Jake," Percy snarled. He smirked.

"Yes," he replied, "how rude of me to not introduce myself. My name is Jake, and I am a Son of Mars and Head of my cabin. And we all know you. Percy Jackson, a Greek, Son of Neptune, this first this camp has seen in decades."

Percy rolled his eyes and tried to ignore Jake's voice. "Cam? You OK?" he asked, disregarding the deadly glare that Jake sends him.

Cam nodded, "Yeah, I'm good. I think I dislocated my shoulder though. It hurts like Styx."

Percy swore under his breath. Whether the Son of Mercury would admit it or not, he was in pain.

"What do you want Jake?" Percy rudely asked as said demigod came and stood right in front of him.

"Respect," he said. "And payback."

Cam let out a laugh. "No one will ever respect you! You're the biggest jerk in the whole school! You're mean, nasty, smelly, and everyone outside your cabin hates you!"

Percy once again had to admire how brave this thirteen year old kid was; however, Percy was also concerned that Cam was going to say something reckless and get injured even further, if the look on Jake's face was anything to go by.

"You," Jake slowly said, venom dripping from every word, "shut your mouth you little brat, before I shut it painfully for you!"

Cam rolled his, and went to open his mouth, but after Percy shot him a look, he closed it again.

"Smart move," a girl's voice sneered. She took off her helmet to reveal brown hair hanging in a braid, and a face that might have been nice-looking except for the intense hatred burning in her eyes.

"You see Jackson," Jake told him, and the girl walked over to him. "JC and I are going to teach you a lesson about how this school works. All you need to know is that Greeks fall at the bottom of our society."

Out of the corner of his eye Percy saw Cam mimicking everything that Jake was saying. He tried not to laugh as he processed that Jake wanted to fight him. Well, if that would end this stupid game, Hades, Percy was all for it!

"You want to fight?" Percy asked. "Well then bring it on!"

With a medieval yell, the two of them charged at him. He blocked JC's blow with his shield, and his invulnerability saved him from Jake's blow to the head.

"Get'em Aquaman!" Cam cheered, still in the clutches of a Mars kid.

Percy fought JC and Jake as hard as he could. There was no way that he was going to lose to them. Their other cabin mate joined them, who he assumed was Jack. The four of them fought for what felt like hours, but must have only been about fifteen minutes. JC and Jake were weakening, but whenever Percy felt like he need an energy boost, he simply stepped in the river. It was slightly difficult fight three massive demigods, even if you don't tire very easily. Percy had just finished off Jack and JC when a gong sounded and Blue fireworks went up. In his moment of distraction, Jake pushed him into the river, but Percy swirled the tide around to drag him in as well. Jake and the other children of Mars swore loudly as the Blue Team and some of those on the red Team cheered. Cam was released, and ran up to congratulate Percy.

"Nice going there, Aquaman. That was absolutely wicked!" he smiled as he gave him a massive high-five.

"Yes, well done heroes." All the campers stopped at the stranger's voice. It was cold, yet airy. Percy wasn't sure about the other demigods, but the voice scared him; it was just too creepy.

A black swirling tornado came down and landed near Percy. It transformed into a good-looking high school boy. Everyone gasped and began to draw their weapons. With a wave of his hand, the wind boy flung some of the demigods over fifty feet into the forest. The others tried to move, but it seemed as if an invisible wall kept them back.

"My name is Dylan," he began. "And you, Percy Jackson, are coming with me!"

Dylan launched himself at Percy, already the bottom half of him was once again a tornado, ready to make a quick getaway. Before Percy could swing Riptide at him, he was shoved roughly to the ground.

"I suppose he'll do just fine."

Percy looked up to see Dylan holding a struggling Cam.

"If you want to save this little boy here from a very painful death," Dylan grinned, "you had better get moving."

Before Percy could do anything more, Dylan shot off as a black horse, vanishing in less than a second.

The invisible force came down, but the Roman demigods just stood there, unmoving, shocked expressions on their faces.

"NO!" Brian had made his way to the front of the crowd, and now sat down on the grass in despair. Percy could not stop staring at the sky, his eyes not believing what they had just witnessed.

A storm spirit had come into the camp, looking for him. But it had failed. Cam was gone. And it was all Percy's fault.

* * *

(1)Your momma's so fat she got stuck in the Grand Canyon

(2) You stupid senseless troll!

(3) Suck it up you cowards and come fight like a real soldier, instead of hiding and shivering with fright while firing your pathetic arrows.

(4)Divide and conquer

(5) OK, one quick thing. When Kim calls Steve a Minotaur, she's basically calling him a Ba$tard. Go look up how the Minotaur came to be and you'll understand my mythological sense of humor.

(6)[This is Greek, from TLT] Go to the crows

(7) [Again, Greek, TLT] Eat my pants

**OK, couple things. **

**Thanks a million to everyone who sent in a taunt/battle cry. They were amazing and helped me a lot**

**Thanks to all those that reviewed. : )**

**I was reading my chapter 8 here, and it cut out the part where Hazel tells Percy how they taught about the Greeks. I don't know why that didn't show up, but it's there now.**

**Thanks for all the support**

**(And pretty please review!) **


	12. Chapter 12

**Before you throw me into Tartus for the long wait, I want to apologize and explain. So put your swords down for a sec, ok?**

**I have midterms, but that's not the problem. I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I tried, but I couldn't get it exactly the way I wanted it. I finally decided on this version, and I hope it lives up to both standards and expectations, though it is slightly shorter. Anyway, thanks for the continued support! Sorry again!**

* * *

Percy kept staring at the sky in disbelief. The whole school was silent, shocked at what had just occurred. Nothing could be heard for a moment except for Brian's anguished cries. Then, like someone had flicked a switch, a babble of noise broke out. Yells and screams covered the few girls who were sobbing. However, most of the demigods were still staring at the sky, frozen in place. As a thunderclap sounded, people seemed to shake themselves out of their stupor.

"This is your fault!" someone screamed, and suddenly all of the Roman demigods were either yelling or defending Percy.

"How can it—"

"—son of Neptune—"

"—Cam—"

"—Jupiter wants to—"

"—not after—"

"—on the River Styx—"

"—but it was—"

"—how could—"

"—but we were—"

"—all alone—"

"—after him—"

"—ventus—"

"—take him where—"

"—a storm spirit—"

"—curse the gods—"

"—tell Lupa—"

"—kill the Greek—"

"—can't hand him over—"

"—give him back—"

"—don't know where—"

"—I don't care—"

"—Greek or Roman—"

"—you don't understand—"

"— just shut up—"

"SILENCE!" Lupa's voice, loud and commanding, was heard over the crowd. Everyone looked up and saw their leader standing upon the hill. They descended into silence.

"Lupa…" Brian whispered.

"Do not fret, my child," Lupa said, "we shall get him back."

"How?" one Venus' children asked, and this was quickly followed by more questions.

"Who was he taken by?" Hannah asked.

"Where could they have taken him?" a child of Apollo added.

"Why were they after Percy?" a Vulcan child questioned.

"And—" someone else began, but they were cut off by Lupa.

"Cease," Lupa ordered. Everyone listened to their leader, though many still were clearly bursting with questions.

"Tell us how to get him back Lupa," Brian pleaded, and the rest of the Mercury nodded profusely in agreement.

"What we need," Lupa began, "is—" an explosion cut off the rest of Lupa's sentence. All of the heads whipped around to see smoke rising into the sky.

"Styx," Percy swore under his breath; this night could not get any worse.

Another explosion sounded, and more smoke rose into the night sky. Even Lupa was worried at this point.

"Grab your armor and weapons," she testily told those assembled, "and follow me."

Immediately, the demigods were shaken out of their surpirse and they fell into order. Percy, of course, had no idea where he was supposed to go, so he planned on following the Mercury Cabin.

Lupa ran and took and flying leap over a boulder, and once she hit the ground, continued at her fast pace, with all the demigods trying to keep up with her.

"What have you done now?" a voice from the shadows asked Percy. He whirled around to find Lilly looking at him and biting her lip.

"I haven't done anything," he began to explain, but Lilly held up a hand.

"Percy," she said, "I know you didn't do this, what I said was more of a rhetorical question. But…" she trailed off, and bit her lower lip again.

"But what…" Percy prodded her, curious as to what she was going to say.

Lilly looked over at the demigods disappearing over the hill and then back at Percy. She seemed to be having an intense internal debate about something. She finally came to a decision; unfortunately it was not the one Percy wanted.

"I'll tell you later," Lilly told him at last. Percy groaned to himself. "Right now," Lilly continued, "we have much bigger problems on our hands."

Percy nodded a bit reluctantly, but quickly began to follow Lilly. She started to race towards where the smoke was coming from, and Percy silently followed her.

"Oh Styx…" she whispered as she entered into the main clearing. Two of the cabins were on fire, and many of the Roman demigods were trying to take down a dragon-woman hybrid. The top half of the body was one of a woman, but the lower half was one or a dragon or snake. Lilly and Percy arrived just in time to witness the monster whipping her tail and sending the demigods surrounding her flying.

"What in Hades is that?" Percy demanded.

Lilly swore rapidly under her breath, muttering some very foul things. "That," she began, "is Delphyne."

"Who?"

"She's a horrible creature. Short version of what she's done: At one point, Typhon severed Jupiter's hands and feet, and Delphyne guarded them."

"She guarded his hands and feet? That's just gross! How did he…never mind, I don't want to know."

"Yeah, please don't go there." Lilly said as she was looking around trying to find a plan to defeat it. "Anyways, with a little help from Mercury and the god Pan, Jupiter got his body parts back, and Delphyne left. She went on to Delphi, guarding a fountain. She was eventually killed by Apollo when he decided that he wanted his Oracle stationed at Delphi. But she hasn't been seen since then. Styx, this is really, really, bad." Lilly again bit her lower lip.

"No kidding this is bad," Percy said, still absorbing the information he had just received, "we have to defeat a monster that Apollo has killed. Did I mention that Apollo is a god and we are mortals?"

"No, but it makes me feel so much better that you did," Lilly replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Wait…" she seemed to have come up with an idea.

"You're invincible, right?" she asked. Percy internally groaned again. He didn't exactly want a plan where he was monster munchies. But he was invulnerable, so maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Well, I have my Achilles' heel spot, but other than that, yeah," he replied, while dodging a stray arrow that had come his way.

"Perfect," Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. "Apollo killed this with his arrows. I think we have poison in the Main House—"

"What? Why?" Percy interrupted, clearly shocked.

Lilly shrugged. "Erm…some on the not so lethal stuff was confiscated from certain cabins, and some is so we can learn for training, and the rest, I'm not so sure. Anyway, as I was saying, we probably have some type of poison in the Main House that we can dip our arrows in to kill this monster. You distract it, I'm going to grab Hannah, get to the Main House, give the poisons to the Apollo cabin, and then they can let their arrows fly. How does that sound?"

"Well, I got nothing, so I'm all for it," Percy told her. Lilly nodded.

"Great. Here goes nothing. And good luck." With those words she shadow-traveled over to Hannah, grabbed her, and then the two of them vanished.

"Here we go," Percy muttered to himself before uncapping Riptide and throwing himself into the battle. Delphyne was a lot more gruesome up close. She was taller than the average woman and something about the lower half of her body just made her look weird; Percy didn't know whether to laugh or be frightened of the monster's appearance.

"Ahh…Perseus Jackson," the monster hissed. "I was told you would be gone. But no matter. Now I can destroy you." She launched towards and Percy swung his sword. She managed to claw him, which would have hurt if he could feel pain. Riptide missed the main part of her body, but nicked her dragon half, and Delphyne howled in pain.

"I shall destroy you, you cursed hero!" she screeched. Percy stood his ground. She lunged for Percy again, mouth opened in an ear-piercing shriek, arms in front of her, ready to pummel him to the ground. However, she never got another chance to touch him. At Reyna's command, numerous arrows were shot and pierced the Delphyne's skin. The poison had spread quickly, and the amount of arrows had done a lot of harm to the monster. She cried out in pain, then fell to the ground, lying on the Earth for mere seconds before it dissolved.

The Romans looked around, both gratefully and wary. They were all on edge, expecting another attack.

"Lilly?" Lupa's voice came across the eerie silence.

"I do not sense anymore," Lilly responded as the shadows around her move and twitched.

Lupa nodded. "And Perseus, if you could attend to those fires."

Percy looked around and realized that the two cabins were still burning slightly. The demigods had tried to put them out, but were more concerned about Delphyne.

"Of course," Percy told Lupa, as he concentrated and swept his hand toward to two burning cabins. The water from the river doused the fire. As the smoke cleared and Percy realized with a sickening jolt, which two cabins had be set on fire. The Neptune and Jupiter cabins.

Percy walked over to his cabin slowly. He couldn't believe that someone had attacked the camp, trying to get to him. Why was he so important?

He saw scroll on the ground right next to his cabin. It read, "_You have been warned._"

Out of the corner of his eye his noticed Lilly and Reyna making their way over to the Jupiter Cabin. Reyna's eyes were puffy; Percy didn't know if that was from fight or because she was upset about what happened to Jason; for what he gathered they were "extremely close."

Lilly bent over and picked something off of the ground. It was another scroll. She cleared her throat and read out "The lost hero."

Her statement was met with lots of murmurings and questions.

"Is that all?" Bobby called. Lilly and Reyna nodded in affirmation.

"Children," Lupa said as the wolf made her way over to where Lilly and Reyna were standing, "I would like to continue what I was saying before. Because of the situations that have aroused, we have but one option."

All of the demigods waited with bated breath. Lupa looked at those assembled before continuing.

"Percy Jackson, will you lead a quest?"

* * *

**Yeah, so, like I said, not my favorite chapter. Oh well! **

**To address a few things/mistakes :)**

**-Hannah-Cha pointed out that in Ch 8 I said the both Uther and Mars were Arthur's father. I meant to put quotations around word father for Uther. He's Arthur's "father" in the sense that that's what the people think. **

**-And ilikefanfiction pointed out that Nico said that Jason was Thalia's sister, it was supposed to be brother. I'll fix those when I get a chance, hope I didn't confuse to many people. **

**Anyway, final request- PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks, and as always, I love ya!**


	13. Chapter 13

Silence followed Lupa's request. Percy knew immediately that he would lead the quest. He was annoyed at how this monster had come from nowhere, grabbed one of the only people who actually accepted him at the camp, destroyed his cabin, and caused so much damage. There was no way that Percy would stand for that.

"Of course I will Lupa," Percy answered. His statement was met with cheering and hissing. Percy didn't need to know which cabin was not supporting him. The Mars' cabin was furious.

"Why does he get a quest?" Jack shouted, "he hasn't even been here a week."

"Because I deem it necessary," Lupa growled. "The attack tonight has clearly been against the Son of the Sea God. He is no longer safe here, nor shall we be safe if he continues to reside with us. I do not want you endangering my students." The last sentence was direct to Percy, who nodded meekly at the fierce wolf. "So once again I will ask you Perseus Jackson; do you accept the quest you have been offered?"

"I do," Percy resolutely announced. There was no cheering, no sound at all. This quest was not a happy one; but which ones ever are?

Lupa nodded. Percy thought that he saw a gleam of approval in her eye, but it vanished so quickly that he wasn't sure it was ever there.

"You shall journey to the Oracle where upon, if by the gods, you shall be given a quest, you shall return to this clearing in which you will then reveal what the Oracle has proclaimed," Lupa ordered him gravely. Percy could feel the tension in the air. He went to walk towards the Oracle, but he realized he did not know where exactly where she was located. And the mood was too tense to ask such a seemingly stupid question.

There was a pregnant pause while Percy decided what he should do. Lupa seemed to notice his hesitation. With a flick of her tail and a nod of her head a flame danced in the air.

"The flame will lead you on your journey to the Oracle," Lupa explained. "You are dismissed Perseus Jackson."

Percy nodded, resisted the urge to bow because of Lupa's extremely formal tone, and began to follow the flame.

The entire camp was silent. Percy avoided looking into people's eyes as he passed them. The flame flickered and danced in front of him. He followed it, and the students parted before it; their solemn eyes following his every move. It was quite unnerving.

The walk seemed endless. Percy dredged up from somewhere in his memory someone telling him to come back and explain the quest if his was still sane or something like that. He was feeling very cheerful. But he knew he had to do it. Cam didn't deserve to get hurt, like so many others he knew did. The one person very vivid in his mind was a small dark-haired boy. The one who reminded him of Lilly. He got hurt because of him. Percy just didn't know how. And Percy's firm resolve to save Cam and keep him from harm propelled him to where the Oracle lived.

Only thinking about it now, Percy wondered what the Oracle looked like. He had two images in his mind. The first was of a crazy red-head, while the other was a creepy mummy who dressed like a hippie. Was this Roman Oracle a mummy as well? Percy reverently hoped that it wasn't.

The flame led him past the Main House to the Oracle's cabin. I looked exactly the same as the other cabins, but somehow seemed more mysterious. Percy walked up the cabin steps and knocked on the door. The flame went out.

"Enter Perseus Jackson."

[][][][][][][][][]

This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. Lilith repeated these words to herself over and over, wanting to believe that if she said them enough times that everything would go back to normal. There would be no smoking cabins, no crying girls, and no stoic boys. No grave Lupa.

Percy had just left, following the flame Lupa had conjured, a resolute look in his eye.

The she-wolf was regarding all of her students with a mother's eye. She wasn't open about it, but she truly cared for each other the demigods that passed through her school. Currently, she was going over them with a mother's careful eye; trying to see if any of them were hurt.

The problem was they demigods were hurt; just not physically. Sure they were beat up and bruised from capture the flag, but that wasn't the pain they were feeling. Everyone's pain was emotional. One of their classmates was gone. Taken. Kidnapped. And by a storm spirit no less!

Lilly sighed. Everything was a mess. Only a few minutes ago she had watched Pat and Ailish triumphantly cross the border and win the game. Now she was standing next to Reyna; the girl had silent tears running down her cheek. And the normally orderly Roman Legion School was in shambles. No one knew how to aptly respond to the chaos that had just occurred.

She needed to do something. She needed to fix this. But she knew she couldn't. It was out of her hands; only Percy's quest could help the school now.

Lilly leaned against a tree and looked around her. Clumps of girls stood together, nervous and sobbing slightly. Some of them sat on the floor, leaning against one another as tears trickled down their faces. The boys sat in quiet and glum groups, often looking up to the sky and then shaking their heads in disbelief.

Hannah was comforting a younger girl, allowing the child to sob into her shirt. She patted her back and whispered encouraging words. The Head of Minerva Cabin, Bridget, was trying to reassure her younger siblings as well. Reyna and Hazel were sitting with Kody and wiping their eyes.

Lilly's gaze fell upon the Mercury Cabin. All of the children of Mercury were together in a group, some sitting, some stand, all of them crying. Pat was comforting Ailish, while Gwen was trying to console Bobby. Brian was the most heart-wrenching to look at. He sat on the ground, his knees up and his head between his hands. He was visibly crying, something he never did. Lilly's heart ached. She knew why he was upset; Cam, besides being his younger brother, was extremely special to Brian. It was, after all, Brian who had found Cam when the boy was five or so. After Brian, at age thirteen, had saved the young child from an Empusa who was going to kill him. Cam had followed him around ever since. Even with the age difference, the two were practically inseparable. Brian would be beating himself up over losing Cam.

Lilly sighed. She would definitely not be the best person to talk, but she could not just stand there and watch Brian blame himself. Steeling her nerves, she gathered her courage and walked over to Brian. She quietly sat down next to him and awkwardly placed her hand on his back. He barely flinched at her touch. Slightly reassured, Lilly rubbed his back, hoping to clam him. She honestly had no idea what she was doing; she had never comforted anyone before, nor had she ever felt to need to. But Gwen was always comforting people, and she usually rubbed their back or arm or shoulder or something to help them calm down. Lilly thought so anyway.

Whatever she was doing seemed to help a little. Brian stopped sobbing uncontrollably and spoke. Lilly had to strain her ears to make out exactly what he was saying though, because his head still rested in his hands.

"—it's all my fault," he whispered. "My fault." He whispered it again and again, as if that would somehow bring Cam back.

"No, it's not," Lilly reassured him. She kept whispering encouraging things and trying to convey that it wasn't his fault that Cam was gone. After a long awhile, Brian finally lifted his head out of his hands. As he looked at her, he seemed slightly taken aback.

"Lilly?" he huskily asked, uncertain.

"Yeah," she replied quietly back, "it's me."

Brian smiled. "Thanks."

[][][][][][][][][]

Hearing the call command to enter, Percy pushed open the door and stepped over the threshold into the Oracle's home. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it. Instead of a mummy or a teenage girl, a seven year old girl stood in front of him. She walked over to a cushioned stool and motioned for him to sit in the chair across from her. Percy obliged.

Sitting in the chair and looking into the girl's eyes, Percy was unnerved. The eyes of this young child looked worn and weary. To wise for such a young face, the brown-hair girl's deep brown eyes felt as if they were searching deep into his soul.

"My name is Delia and I am the most sacred and trusted Oracle of the god Phoebus Apollo, ruler of the Sun, god of music, poetry, and prophecy. Speak seeker, and ask," the girl announced. Even her voice did not sound like a seven year old was speaking.

Clearing his throat, Percy spoke, strongly resisting the urge to ask about his destiny. "What is my quest?"

"Retreat to the East to the waters with no salt,

the greatest of them all will reveal a hidden vault.

An entrance to seek the one you will find,

a hidden friend to help you out of a bind.

Opposed by she who despises you,

return guiding the lost one with you."

A pause followed her words while Percy tried to digest all that had been said. Delia closed her eyes and reopened them.

"I believe you should head back now Perseus Jackson," she advised. "Lupa and the others await news."

Percy nodded, murmured a thanks, and departed the cabin. Time to deliver the news and the prophecy.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, thanks for everything! **

**Once again, prophecy all me; let me know what you think!**

**Please review! Thanks all! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Percy walk into the clearing and every kind of noise immediately ceased. Every eye in the clearing bore into Percy's, giving him the feeling that everyone was examining his soul. Standing tall and confident, Percy walked over to Lupa and waited for her approval.

"Speak, Perseus Jackson," Lupa commanded as he placed himself in front of her.

"I have gotten a prophecy," Percy said into the silence. "Do you…uh…want me to tell everyone?"

"Yes," Lupa replied in a strained voice. It was evident that Lupa very extremely tense and nervous.

"Right," Percy hastily said, he took a deep breath and began to recite the prophecy he had been given.

"Retreat to the East to the waters with no salt,

the greatest of them all will reveal a hidden vault.

An entrance to seek the one you will find,

a hidden friend to help you out of a bind.

Opposed by she who despises you,

return guiding the lost one with you."

Silence overtook those listening as each person tried to digest what they had just heard. The children of Minerva especially were deep in thought, conversing with one another. The Mercury Cabin was excited by the prospect of getting Cam back, as the last line seemed to imply.

Lupa seemed to think along the same lines as the Mercury children. She breathed a sigh of relief and her stance became a little less tense.

"You will choose your companions for the journey Perseus Jackson," Lupa told him, "look to the sky."

"Um…what? Why?" Percy asked confused. "What will appear in the sky?"

"Birds," Lupa replied.

"Birds?" Percy asked, "I don't understand."

Lupa sighed. "Centuries ago, the very first children of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were deciding who should rule the city that they had founded. Remus saw 7 birds and Romulus saw 5."

"But Romulus was the founder of Rome, right? What happened to Remus?" Percy asked, trying to make sense of why he was told to look for birds.

Lupa paused awkwardly. Lilly interrupted and answered for the she-wolf. "Due to uh…complications and temper issues, an argument broke out, and um…Romulus killed Remus. But anyway, the point is that the birds will give you the number of people that will go on the quest. So forget about the murder and stuff and look up at the sky and tell us how many birds that you see."

"Um…" Percy nodded and looked up to the sky. He waited a few minutes in silence as he scanned the scanned the sky. One minute passed, two minutes.

"Hurry up Mercury," Percy could have sworn he heard Lupa mutter very testily under her breath.

There—finally some birds flew over the clearing. There was one, two, three, four, of them. That meant that there would be four people on the quest. So he must choose three quest members. Percy had a good idea of whom he would choose; but he began to think about it.

"I saw four birds," Percy told Lupa, who furrowed her wolf-eyebrows.

"Most unusual," Lupa commented, "four is not the usual number of people on a quest. But we cannot disagree with the god of bird omens, so Perseus Jackson, you shall choose three other demigods to accompany you on your quest. Think about it and by tomorrow morning I want your answer."

Percy nodded and mumbled, "Yes Lupa."

"At first light," Lupa continued, "everyone shall be dressed and sitting at their tables in the Pavilion. Then Perseus will announce his choice for companions. I expect you all then. You are dismissed. And I order all of you to bed. Now." She practically growled the last word.

"Yes Lupa," some demigods chorused while others nodded. Lupa inclined her head, turned around and sprinted away.

Percy stood staring at the spot Lupa had vacated. He suddenly felt tired and dizzy. The whole night was a whirlwind and was mentally and physically exhausted.

"You should go to bed now," an unusually soft voice told him. He turned and found Lilly staring at him, an expression that could have been sadness on her face. "You'll be tired tomorrow. And it's been a rough night. An you should go now before everyone comes out of their sadness and bombards you with requests to join you on your quest."

Percy offered a slight, grim smile. "I will thanks."

"See you in the morning Percy," Lilly told him as she walked away. He watched as she walked back and over to the Mercury Cabin. A few of the younger ones were still on the ground, a few had passed out from exhaustion in the late night. It was around midnight, after all. Awfully late for a bunch 10 year olds to be up. Lilly went over to a particularly small girl and lifted her up. Around her the older member of the Mercury Cabin were picking up and carrying their younger siblings. As Percy exited the clearing he looked back to see Brian and Lilly each carrying a young kid walking back to the Mercury cabin.

[][][][][][][][]

Percy opened his eyes and all her saw was darkness. He turned and found that he was completely surround and encased by walls of darkness. He reached out his hand and touched damp dirt.

"Hello? Hello?" Percy called out, feeling as if he had been buried alive. Only his echo answered him.

"Ah…so you are the hero? You definitely aren't as impressive as the hero's I used to know," a deep voice taunted Percy; he couldn't tell where it was coming from. "Would you like to test me, Savior of Olympus? I guarantee that you will lose."

Percy was about to retort, but before he could speak the dirt underneath him turned into mud, and he began sinking. He struggled, twisting his body, trying to escape.

"Kronos!" he called, calling upon the name from somewhere deep in his memory, "Stop this! You cannot overtake Olympus! This is a useless fight! Let Cam go!"

A chilling laugh sounded and echoed throughout the dirt room. "Naïve little hero, you are not the Savior I was told you were."

As Percy struggled he was aware of a dog barking and howling. It called his name. He gave one final violent twist of his body in an attempt to get out of the sinking mud. His eyes flew open as he landed with a thunk on the floor.

His eyes flew to the window, where a small twelve year old girl with auburn hair sat on the windowsill. A small hunting dog pup was in her lap, barking. She petted it and looked at Percy. She smiled when she saw that he was awake. Inclining her head, she dropped from the windowsill and back to the ground outside the cabin. Percy leapt up and ran to the window. He saw her run off with the small pup following her. As if sensing him watching her, she waved and made an ancient sign. Percy knew that it meant good luck. He waved in return and watched as she disappeared into the trees.

Percy walked back to his bed and glanced at the clock. It was about 3am. He shook his head, thinking that maybe he had imagined the girl, whoever she was.

As he went to go back to bed his saw a piece of paper on the floor.

"_Keep this secret,"_ it read in Greek. Percy knew the child was a goddess and had saved him. He silently sent a prayer of thanks towards the goddess. He went to the fireplace in his room and used a match to make a small fire. He threw in the piece of paper and watched as it burned. He would tell no one of the meeting; he knew that it was suicide to disobey one of the gods.

He put out the fire by bringing the water from the glass by his bed and having it extinguish the fire. He then went back to bed, wanting to sleep before beginning his quest.

[][][][][][][][]

The sunlight streaming into the room caused Percy to awake. He immediately sprang out of bad and got dressed. He put Riptide into his pocket and hurried over to the dining Pavilion. Most cabins were already there, eagerly awaiting Percy's announcement.

Lupa was presiding over them all and motioned Percy over to her when she saw him arrive.

"We are just waiting for a couple cabins," Lupa told him, "then you can proceed. Understood?"

"Yes Lupa," Percy responded. He waited for the last two cabins to fill in. The Mercury cabin came, disgruntled and somber. Lupa tapped her paw as we waited for the children of Mars to arrive. Finally, after what seemed like ages, they Mars Cabin arrived, casting apologetic looks at Lupa and throwing dirty looks at Percy. Percy didn't care.

"Silence," Lupa commanded, although there wasn't much talking going on. "Perseus Jackson, who would you like to accompany you on your quest?"

Percy took a deep breath. "Yes I have." Everyone got so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Even Lupa was waiting anxiously for Percy to speak.

"I would ask Lilly, Gwendolyn, and Bobby to accompany on my quest."

"I accept!" Bobby yelled.

"I accept as well," Gwen spoke up.

"I would never pass up a chance to destroy some monsters," Lilly commented. "Of course I'm in."

The demigods erupted into cheers; well, the Mars cabin didn't seem to happy to cheer for Percy.

"Since you have chosen you quest members, the quest begins today," Lupa announced. "You will each eat and then get the supplies you need and meet back her as soon as possible."

Percy, Gwen, Bobby, and Lilly scarfed down their food, then ran off to pack. Percy threw an extra t-shirt, ambrosia, nectar, and granola bars into a backpack given to him by Bobby. Then he met the other three back at the Pavilion.

"Good luck heroes," Lupa proclaimed as they four of them stood in front of her. "*Di pervigilant."

And the demigods exited through the Roman gates in into the mortal world.

* * *

***May the gods watch over you.**

**Hermes/Mercury is the god of Bird Omens**

**Sorry for delay. PLEASE REVIEW! :) **


	15. Chapter 15

"So…where to now?" Bobby asked once they had exited the school.

"We go East," Lilly commented, and Bobby rolled his eyes.

"No duh," he muttered.

"Lake Superior," Percy told him. "Eastern Waters with no salt are the Great Lakes. The greatest of the five Great Lakes is Lake Superior."

"Awesome," Bobby exclaimed, "let's go get Cam!"

"Shall we pick a mode of transportation?" Gwen asked, glancing at Percy, who was scanning the area.

"What about money?" Percy questioned.

"I can take care of it," Lilly said.

"So we fly?" Bobby offered.

"NO!" Lilly and Percy turned at the same time to face Bobby. He held his hands up and took a step back.

"Hey, hey, ok, sorry," Bobby said. "It was just a suggestion."

"It's not a bad one," Lilly told him, "but Jupiter would most likely blast the two of us out of the sky if we did that."

Bobby looked at the two of them and blushed. "Oh, you're probably right. Sorry."

"No big deal," Lilly brushed it off.

"Yeah man," Percy agreed, "it's totally fine. We just need to travel overland. How about a train?"

"That sounds good," Gwen said, "but it is expensive. And we need to check the train schedules. Will we be able to afford it?"

"Yes," Lilly told her.

"Yes what?" Bobby asked, "Yes we can afford it? None of us had lots of money."

"Actually," Lilly said softly, "I do."

"Really?" Percy looked at her, a memory of a talking poodle flashed in his mind. "That's fantastic. I never have money; once my friend…um…my friends and I had to rely on money from a talking poodle. And even then it wasn't enough and there was this zebra that was talking about…" Percy stopped when he noticed the bemused looks on the other demigod's faces. "Erm…nevermind."

Bobby started laughing. "A talking poodle? You've got to be joking!" He continued to giggle as they four of them continued walking towards the nearest town.

"Nope," Percy said, "and I'm pretty sure it was pink. Can't really remember though."

"This way," Gwen suddenly said. Percy sent her a questioning look, as did Lilly. Bobby just nodded and began to walk in the direction she had pointed.

"I'm pretty sure there's not a trail there," Percy said, confused.

"Actually," Gwen explained, "there used to be. It was a short cut used many years ago. The wild grass, flowers, and vines have covered it. But trust me; I can sense the path that used to be there. The way the plant life grows now is an indication of what used to be there."

"Alright then, lead the way," Percy ordered. Gwen nodded and pushed away a hanging branch. With barely a sound, Percy followed Gwen, with Bobby behind him and Lilly behind Bobby. The path became more pronounced the further in that the group got. Soon it became enough for two people to walk side by side. Lilly fell into step with Gwen as the two of them walked in silence, listening to Bobby and Percy speak.

"—so then Jason dueled with Krios while Lilly was off being a total badass with her undead minions—" Bobby was explaining the Roman's battle to Percy. Lilly snorted at his description and Gwen shot her a grin.

"If definitely didn't happen like that," Lilly muttered, slightly embarrassed. Gwen smiled at her and gave a small giggle.

"Well," Gwen said, "it kind of did. I mean, we were losing horribly. And just when Jason was about to be skewered, a skeletal hand deflects the blow. It came out of nowhere and I couldn't believe what we saw. And when we all looked over you were standing on the mountain with an army of undead surrounding you. They way you spoke and the look on your face was horrifying. You honestly have no idea how incredibly scary you looked."

"Made me want to pee my pants," Bobby jumped into the conversation, starling the girls, who were unaware that the boys had been listening. Gwen, Lilly, and Percy laughed.

"Jake looked like he actually did," Bobby muttered, only slightly annoyed that they were laughing at him. This only caused more laughter to erupt from the demigods and soon even Bobby was having trouble stopping.

"We're here," Gwen told them as the trail they were on ended. She pushed aside a branch and the four half-bloods found themselves standing on a side walk.

"Which way to the cash?" Bobby asked.

"This way," Lilly called over her shoulder as she began walking toward the city.

"How are we going to get money?" Bobby inquired.

"By going to bank," Lilly stated.

"We don't have a bank account," Bobby told her, motioning to himself and Gwen, "and I don't think that Percy can access his if he even has one. You have an account loaded with money just waiting to be used?"

"Yes," Lilly replied, "I do."

"But—" Bobby went to continue but Gwen cut him off.

"Leave it," Gwen whispered. Bobby closed his mouth.

Percy was looking around him, his hand fingering his ballpoint pen. Gwen noticed wondered why he looking so agitated. Was he nervous of the big city? Maybe he was a country kid.

Lilly led the way to a Citi Bank. She turned to face the rest of the group. "Percy, you can come with me if you want, but I'd rather that the two of you stay here."

"No problem Lilly," Gwen quickly said, overriding Bobby, who looked like he was going to protest. "We'll be on that bench; take your time." Lilly nodded.

"Guys," Percy suddenly jumped in, "just…be careful…" he said awkwardly. Bobby raised his eyebrow.

"Um…ok," he started. "I usually am, so no worries there."

"Seriously," Percy stressed, and Gwen thought back to him fidgeting with his pen, "San Francisco is supposed to by infested with so many monsters and—"

"No more so then usual," Gwen told him.

"But," Percy stopped for a minute and took a deep breath, "I get the strong feeling that we should be in San Francisco—"

"Because we should be at Lake Superior," Bobby offered, shrugging.

"No. This portion of my brain keeps telling me to get the Hades out of here. That it's dangerous for half-bloods to be here because of the large population of monsters."

"Don't worry," Gwen assured him, "we don't have an out of control monster population. And we live here all the time, so we would know, right?"

Percy nodded, but muttered under his breath so that no one heard him, "Yeah, that's what worries me."

"We're wasting time," Lilly announced, "let's go." Percy followed her with a last look over his shoulders at Gwen and Bobby.

They entered the bank and Lilly walked over to the line waiting to get to the counter. Percy waited away a bit as she stood one line. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling overtook Percy. He lean against a wall and sunk to the floor as he tried to sort out the feelings spinning trough his head.

What did he know? He knew his best friend was a blonde girl named Annabeth. She was a daughter of Athena. He smiled; her brainiac attitude must have rubbed off a little on him, he was quickly able to figure out the first two lines of the prophecy. What else did he know about himself, besides his name? He had met with a talking poodle and zebra; he wasn't going to look too deeply into that. He had the curse of Achilles. Who had convinced him to do that? And the goddess who had saved him last night. He though he knew who she was, but it couldn't be possible…she hated boys. What had he done to earn her favor? Percy groaned and closed his eyes, wanting to find whoever had taken his memories and demand their reason as he held Riptide to their throat.

"You ok?" he opened his eyes to find Lilly standing over him.

"Yeah," Percy grumbled, getting up, "I'm good."

"You sure?" Lilly asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Percy responded, and sighed. "I just really want answers. And what if I screw up this quest because I can't remember something important? I don't want to mess up this quest. And I don't want to be a crappy leader because I can't remember things."

"You'll do fine," Lilly assured him.

"I really hope so," Percy truthfully said.

"You haven't failed a quest yet," Lilly told him and she exited the bank.

"Wait, what?" Percy tried to ask, but she was already out the doors. "Nevermind," he sighed, "I'm not even going to ask. Or question it. In fact, I'm going to pretend that I never heard that at all." Percy quickly followed Lilly out the exit before someone could ask why he was talking to himself.

He walked over to the bench where Gwen and Bobby sat talking to Lilly.

"—cannot believe that!" Bobby exclaimed, looking extremely excited.

"Yeah, well," Lilly shuffled uncomfortable, "my father set it up in case of emergency for my mother back pre- World War II. It's accumulated quite a bit of interest since then," she gave a wry smile.

Gwen smiled and leapt off the park bench, a purple flower in her hand. She placed it on the ground and whispered a few words. Then she turned to face the other demigods. "Let's go to the train station." Lilly and Gwen led the way and Percy and Bobby followed.

"Not to be weird, or mean, or anything," Bobby said softly to Percy, "but I didn't realize how caring Pluto could be a caring father."

The boy flashed through Percy's mind again; the one like Lilly. He had dark hair and pale skin. A short black iron sword hung at his side. He was…yes, he was.

"You'd be surprised," Percy murmured.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"I said, 'yeah, hard to believe isn't it?'" Percy told him quickly.

"Guys," Gwen called to them, "come on! I think we can catch the next train if we hurry to the station and get the tickets."

Bobby began running, and Percy followed him. Laughing, they ran past Lilly and Gwen, who cried out in surprise as they went past her. With a shout, the girls began to chase the boys down to the train station. Bobby was the fastest and reached the station with a triumphant yell. Laughing, the other three arrived and brought the tickets for the next train to Wyoming, where they would then get tickets to Minnesota.

"Food anyone?" Lilly asked.

Bobby and Percy nodded quickly, while Gwen responded with a "yes please."

"Great, me too," Lilly said as she handed each a person a twenty. "If you need more, let me know."

"Thanks Lilly," Bobby said, as both Percy and Gwen added their thanks as well.

"Alright guys, get what you want and meet back here. There is no way any of us is going to miss the train, ok?" Percy told them.

"Gotcha," Bobby responded, giving a mock salute. Then the four of them went off to get something to eat before the officially were on their way to rescue Cam.

* * *

**Ahhh! So sorry for the long wait, but I encounter some Venti and had to fight them off. :) **

**Please forgive me and review!**

**And LadyMysteri , if you want to review every chapter, I have no problems with that! :) **

**Thanks for all the support guys! **


	16. Chapter 16

The four of them boarded the train, Lilly and Percy sat across from Gwen and Bobby, awkwardly shifting in their seats to avoid hitting each other's knees. Gwen and Lilly had the window seats, and after the ticket collector took their tickets, the four of them relax; well, most of them did anyway, Percy was still playing with his pen.

"This is the nicest I've ever traveled on a quest," Bobby commented, "Of course I've only been on one other. I went with Jason to retrieve a sacred bowl of Jupiter."

"Could you tell me about it?" Percy inquired, curious.

"Do you really want to know?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, I do," Percy responded, "I want to hear about a real quest, and maybe it'll jog my memory about my own past."

"If you're sure," Bobby said. "You two object?"

"No," Gwen replied.

"Never really heard it in the first place," Lilly told him. Bobby blushed a bit uncomfortably.

"Well, it was three years ago," Bobby began, "I was twelve at the time. Delia had spurted a prophecy to Jason, and he had chosen me to accompany him."

"What was the prophecy?" Percy asked.

"Two boys follow in the footsteps of their father,

old enemies they should not bother.

Trees offer food, water, and wine,

once again will the guardians dine," Bobby recited.

"Doesn't sound too bad," Lilly stated. "I would avoid old enemies without needing the warning though." Bobby and Percy laughed.

"I still haven't forgotten it after three years," Bobby continued, "because I was scared to death. I had no idea if Mercury and Jupiter had ever walked together, or if they hung out all the time. I decided to actually do some research, so I went for Hazel for help. She recalled an ancient myth about Baucis and Philemon. Do you know the story?"

"Doubt it," Percy replied.

"Gwen? You want to tell the story? You do it better than I do," Bobby said.

Gwen nodded and began. "Once, Jupiter, god and the sky, and his son Mercury, god of travelers, were walking, disguised as weary and poor travelers. They came upon a town and requested food and shelter. They asked one hundred homes and at one hundred homes they were turned away. They came to the home of an elderly couple and requested food and shelter. The old couple immediately offered them their house. They were poor, but as these travelers need food, Baucis went outside to catch the only bird that they had in order to cook it for their guests. Philemon was making the guests comfortable. The bird was caught and after Mercury and Jupiter had been fed, they revealed to the old couple that they were actually the gods that they worshipped.

In gratitude for accepting them after they had been turn away at so many houses, they offered them one wish. Instead of wishing for riches or wealth, they wished to die at the same time. They loved each other so much that neither wanted to live without the other for any amount of time. Jupiter agreed and made their home into a temple and them the guardians. They lived as guardians, but eventually they died. As the two of them stood outside, at the exact moment both of them began to turn into trees. They realized it; and the last words that they said were each others' names."

"That's strangely sweet," Percy said. "I mean, it's odd that they became trees, but nice that their wish came true."

"I think so too," Lilly agreed. "Continue the story of your quest Bobby."

"Right. So Hazel found that story, and then we decided to find the temple. When I slept that night, my father visited me. He told me that he was proud of me, and he left me a gift. It was a map that showed the way to what I desired most. You ever seen Pirates of the Caribbean?"

"What?" Percy asked.

"Yes," both Lilly and Gwen replied.

"It's a movie," Lilly explained. "With Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. There's pirates and love and sword-fighting and backstabbing and—"

"—a compass that points in the direct of whatever the person holding it desires most," Bobby finished.

"Really? That's so cool," Percy said.

"The script writer is actually a child of Mercury," Bobby explained, "and he wrote the movie based on the story my father had told him. There actually was a compass that directed the owner to whatever was desired; once the owner died, my dad got it back. Over the years he's given it to some of his other kids. It's adapted and evolved to each time period."

"So that's the same compass that the pirate?" Percy asked, astounded.

"Not the movie one, but yeah."

"So awesome!"

"Yeah, so anyway, the next day the two of us followed the map and it led us to this quaint little house. We managed to avoid a bunch of Cyclopes, which, of course are our enemies. Almost got caught, but we managed to outsmart them. Then we found the house-temple; it was surrounded by lots of trees and nature."

"Did it look pretty?" Gwen couldn't help asked.

Bobby gave her a weird look, "It was overgrown, but I guess. So we got in, did our thing; we found the bowl immediately—the map lead us right to it. When Jason touched it, these two really old trees in the front of the temple began to change. We watched dumbfounded as they became two old people. Then they thanked us, food appeared, we ate together, and a rainbow light appeared and the disappeared into it. It was quite shocking, let me tell you. Then Jason and I headed back to school. And that was the short version of our adventure."

"Sounds cool," Percy said.

"Didn't sound very dangerous," Lilly commented.

Bobby shrugged, "Nothing we couldn't handle."

"Where is the map now?" Lilly asked, "We could definitely use it."

Bobby looked down glumly. "Well, no one except the Jupiter, Lupa, Mercury, and Jason knew that I had it. None of my siblings, even. A couple months ago, Lupa told me that Lord Jupiter had order the map to be taken. He didn't offer any explanation. So I had to give it in. I don't have it anymore," Bobby finished sadly. "I wished I did; it would make it so much easier to find Cam."

"I wish you had it too," Percy said, "but I'm sure we can still rescue him."

Conversation quickly switched to les depressing subjects as Gwen began to tell a ghost story about the camp, much to the amusement of Percy. Bobby told some of the more entertaining stories about the history of his cabin. Lilly acted like she was pay attention, but just gazed out the window.

The train ride was long, and after a long time on the train, the steady rhythm lulled the demigods to sleep. All, however, except for Lilly. Glancing around at her sleeping companions, she sighed and leaned against the back of her seat.

She was too nervous to sleep; her dream from last night had frightened her.

"_Lilith!" someone scream. Lilly turned around and ducked as a sword came and swung at her. She scampered out of the way, glancing around her and she was shocked at what she saw—a battle was all around her. _

_Without registering what she was doing, she began to look for faces she knew in the crowd. Heart pounding, she gazed upon the faces of those fighting, praying that she did not see Jason, Gwen, Bobby, Percy, Cam, or any of the other demigods at camp. She even hoped that she didn't see Jake, and that was saying something. _

"_Lilith!"_

_Again, she turned at the sound of her name. As she instinctively ducked, she saw an old man upon a hilltop. He motioned at her and called her name, "Lilith!" _

_Determined to reach the old man, Lilly began to weave among the soldiers, dodging blows and swords. She was faintly concerned that no of them commented on her presence in the midst of the battle, but as she forged ahead, she realized that only the old man could answer her questions. _

_She reached the hilltop. Panting, she looked at the man who had summoned her, "Sir?"_

"_Lilith Winchester," he began, "I am the prophet Calchas."_

"_But you're dead!" was all Lilly could say before she was able to think. _

"_I am," he replied. "This is merely a memory of mine, one where my presence is strongest. Do you know the scene? Look around you."_

_Lilly's eyes scanned the bloodied horizon. She noted the ancient attire the people wore, but was unable to place the time period. She glanced back at the soothsayer. _

"_You are in the midst of what you know as the Trojan War," Calchas told her gently. Lilly stared dumbfounded at him, unable to speak. _

"_Wh…"she began. _

"_Peace, child," he told her, "you are only dreaming. No one here knows of your presence, nor can any weapons here harm you. I brought your consciousness here in order to deliver a message."_

"_From who?" _

"_I cannot tell you, daughter of the Underworld. But I simply need you to listen and heed my words. I know what you truly desire; what you truly seek. I come to tell you that in time, you will find it, and you shall not be alone again. I also warn you about the danger you face. It is much deeper than the gods would imagine. Unity is the key to success, and it is vital that you complete you're quest and return home safely. Take heed and beware. Good luck, daughter of Pluto."_

_An inhuman yell shattered the air; startled, Lilly whipped her head around. There was Achilles, swift-footed warrior and bravest of the Trojans. Awestruck, she stared open-mouthed at him and he struck down his enemies. _

_Lilly turned back to face Calchas, but found him gone. Left in his place was a patch of dead, blacken grass. Turning her body around again, Lilly allowed her eyes to absorb all she saw, as she awoke in her bed back at the school. _

Lilly shuddered. For one of the most pivotal soothsayers in history to visit her in a dream was not the best thing that she could hope for. She took a deep breath and registered that their stop was next. She shook awake her companions and they got ready to leave. They sat in silence until the train arrived at their stop. Arising from their seats, Bobby stepped into the isle, but a man, wearing jogging clothes and listening to his iPod bumped into him. Bobby fell and the man spilled his papers. Quickly scooping them up, the man left without a word to Bobby.

"You're forgiven," Bobby muttered as Percy helped him off the floor. Gwen reached over to pick up an envelope that Bobby had fallen on.

"Oh my gods," she whispered as she held the envelope out to Bobby.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"It's addressed to you," she quietly told him.

"Open it after we get off the train," Percy told him, as they walked quickly to the exits.

They just made it and they walked over to a bench as the train pulled out of the station.

Bobby took a deep breath and opened the envelope. A single sheet paper was inside. As Bobby held it, a map appeared. A smile appeared on his face, as all the eyes of the demigods gazed upon the path they were going to follow.

* * *

**I am so incredibly sorry for the long wait. I had AP, then finals, and computer issues and it was crazy. Hope you guys forgive me and still enjoy the story. Thanks.**

**Please review and I love you all! **


	17. Chapter 17

Bobby's face was beaming. "That was Dad! He's actually helping us!" He looked ecstatic at the prospect.

Gwen was beaming as well, and Lilly and Percy both had joyous looks upon their faces.

"Fortuna smiles upon us today," Percy remarked, as he clapped Bobby on the back. "Come on, with this map we can find Cam easily."

Lilly laughed. "Don't ever say something will be easy, or you'll—"

A boom shook the station. Mortals and the demigods glanced around them uncertainly.

"—jinx it," Lilly finished slowly.

"Head for the exits," Percy ordered, drawing Riptide out of his pocket, "now." The four of them began to back slowly away when a wall was smashed through and a giant snake with two heads, one on each end of its body, came slithering through. The mortals screamed, probably seeing a giant python on steroids or something along those lines. Whatever they saw, it was enough for them to get out of the way—_fast_—and call animal control.

"What is that?" questioned Bobby and Gwen grew pale.

"That my friends," a male voice responded, "is the Amphisbaena. It a poisonous snake that will destroy you!" The owner of the voice walked through the hole in the wall and stood proudly, looking triumphantly at the heroes.

"Sorry, and you are?" Lilly asked as the demigods found themselves stuck between a wall and a crazy man with a two-headed snake.

"Oh, why how rude of me not to introduce myself," he said, making a sweeping gesture with his hands, "my name is Erysichthon, and I despise the gods!" He paused dramatically after the ending, as if he was waiting for an ominous thunderclap to sound; nothing happened.

"Should I know who he is?" Percy staged whispered to Gwen. Bobby snorted as Erysichthon looked affronted.

Gwen looked at the man with disgust. "He once took an axe to a sacred grove of my mother's trees. She cursed him; he craved food and the more he ate, the hungrier he became. He even continually sold off his daughter, but she was saved each time by Neptune. Mother's curse haunted him until the day he died." Gwen looked vindictive as she finished, which was out of character for her; she was normally so sweet.

"But this guy lived ages ago," Bobby said as he kept an eye on the snake, who was swaying back and forth, watching its prey, "so shouldn't he be dead?"

Erysichthon laughed. "Why, my little naïve child, of course I was dead. But you must understand, there are greater forces in this world than your parents, the Olympian gods."

"Who," Percy challenged, "Kronos?"

"Kronos?" Erysichthon replied, "No. That fool was unsuccessful in his attempt to topple the balance of power. But was shall succeed where he failed. After all we have—" he stopped and smirked at the demigods who were switching their wary gaze between himself and the snake. "But I must not tell. Sorry children." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand clucking of his tongue.

"You—" Percy hotly began to head toward Erysichthon when the snake struck. Nimbly, Percy dodged out of the way. He drew Riptide and began to fight the head. Meanwhile, the other head was also trying to gain a little demigod snack by fighting with Bobby. The Son of Mercury had he sword out and was battling the monster alongside Lilly.

Erysichthon laughed at them before he drew his axe and began to descend to the demigods.

"Not so fast," Gwen hissed, blocking his way. There was a fury in her eyes that most had never seen before.

"You're going to stop me, you little child? I'll chop you like I did to your mother's precious trees," Erysichthon said, leering at her.

"You'll pay for what you did to my mother!"

"I doubt that," the man replied, swinging his axe downward. Gwen ducked and rolled out of the way. Vines shot out of the ground to grab Erysichthon around his ankles and drag him down. He chopped them off and threw a heavy piece of rock from the crumbled wall at Gwen. She moved out of the way, and used a vine to snatch away his axe, only for Erysichthon to hit her in the back of the head while she was distracted with another rock he had grabbed. He went over to his weapon and hoisted it over his shoulder.

He smiled to himself and turned around only to be hit by a furious teenager. He looked at his attacker and grinned. "Ahh, Bobby, isn't it? I believe you have what I'm looking for? A map?"

"I don't have any map," Bobby replied, punching Erysichthon in the nose, "and if I did I sure as Hades wouldn't give it to you! If you've seriously hurt Gwen I'll—"

A well placed kick sent Bobby sprawling. He smashed his head and laid, stunned. "You'll what little hero? You can't hurt me." He laughed as he raised his axe about his head.

Percy and Lilly had just finished with the snake, as the simultaneously sliced off both heads. They both turn in time to see the horrible scene before them.

"BOBBY!" Lilly screamed as she shadow-traveled to try to save him from an early visit to her father. She spun out of the shadows and push Bobby away, but was unable to save herself and the axe came down across her left side.

She screamed in shock and pain as Erysichthon gave a small grin and turned to face Bobby.

"Hand over the map now or I'll—" Erysichthon never got to finish his sentence. A moment of shock was visible on his face as he glanced down at the blade protruding from his chest before disintegrated into dust. Behind him was Percy, breathing heavily with a look of immense anger etched across his face.

"Where's Gwen?" Bobby asked. "What happened to Lilly? Lilly!" He twisted his body to see the Daughter of Pluto lying on the concrete floor, surround by debris. Her left side was sliced open and her blood was on the ground.

"Lilly, Lilly, come on, focus," Bobby muttered as Percy also knelt down next to her.

She stirred slightly and looked up at them. "Bobby? You ok? Gwen, she…"

"—is right here," Gwen answered softly grabbing Lilly's hand.

"…I…" the injured girl began, but Gwen quieted her.

"You'll be fine," Gwen said, as Bobby began ripping a spare t-shirt into bandages while Percy got nectar and ambrosia. He handed them to Gwen, who tipped some of the liquid into Lilly's mouth.

"…you've gotta go…" Lilly whispered to her friend as Bobby began to wrap her side.

"We're not leaving without you," Gwen told her. Lilly shook her head and sighed.

"…you…must…more'll…come…thanks for everything…but you've gotta go…" Lilly stubbornly ordered them.

"Lilly…" Gwen whispered as Percy and Bobby looked on helplessly.

"She's right you know," a girl of about seven told them, appearing from nowhere.

"Who…" Percy began, but the small girl interrupted him.

"I am a nymph, Lilac," she said, "and you three really should hurry, I was told more of the enemy are on the way. I shall tend to your friend."

"But—" Bobby began.

"Go…" Lilly weakly order, "…now…please Gwen…"

It was Gwen who finally made the executive decision. "You are a great friend and a wonderful person, no matter what anyone says," the daughter of Ceres told her friend through her tears. "Guys, we gotta go," she took their hands and began running with them to the exit, the boys calling good-byes to Lilly and thanking her even as they tried not to show how worried they were.

Lilac looked down at teenager at her feet the nymph had just begun to fix the bandages when two Empousai came through the wall bearing the teeth and swing their swords.

Lilly was faintly aware of the monsters coming at her, but she had no strength to fight. Wearily, she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was a figure stabbing the she-demons and bending down to her before she knew no more.

[][][][][][][][]

Gwen didn't stop running for a good fifteen minutes with Percy and Bobby right behind her. She only stopped when she tripped over a root, but she didn't get up, only sat up and started weeping. Percy and Bobby also stopped and sat next to her, each holding back their own tears.

After a time, Gwen was finally able to speak. "I can't believe we just left her there! That _I_ just left her! I'm a horrible person! I can't…I can't…" and she began to weep again.

Bobby placed his arms around her. "She wanted us to go. Trust me, I feel horrendous about it too. But we couldn't argue with her."

Percy walked a few paces away as Bobby continued to comfort Gwen. He looked up at the sky. The trip had been uneventful up until today. The train ride from San Francisco to Wyoming had been uneventful, and the crossover train only highlight was a surprise gift from Mercury. But nothing stays easy forever on a quest; that's why only the bravest heroes used to undertake them.

They needed to find Cam. Fast. It had already been five days since Cam was kidnapped; they need to get him and find out why he was taken. And to do that they need to get to Lake Superior. And to get their they need…

"A bus," Percy muttered. "Take a bus there, I can get us a boat, and they've got to have the entrance to a 'secret vault' on a small island, which is probably covered by the mist."

His mind made up, Percy turned back to the other two demigods. "Bobby, get your map to show us the best way to the nearest bus stop that'll take us to Lake Superior. We've still got to find Cam."

Bobby nodded and pulled out the piece of paper. "*Ostende viam!" As the three half-bloods looked on, the paper began to show multiple ink lines running across the page. Before the eyes of the three demigods, a map to a bus station five miles away was in Bobby's hands.

"Ready?" Percy asked, taking a deep breath and facing his companions.

Gwen nodded. Bobby looked at the two of them, "Well then, let's get this show on the road! I have some monster I want to skewer." Percy grinned as Gwen gave a small smile.

They walked the five miles in silence, each with their own thoughts. They were all on their guard, though, and held their weapons in front of them. They reached the bus station without incident, but the two hour ride itself was a whole separate matter.

The demigods couldn't stop fidgeting, due to both their ADD and nervousness. Percy fiddled with his pen, Bobby did mind-puzzles, and Gwen stared out the window and named every plant she knew under her breath. Every new person that got on was regarded as a threat, and watched carefully. Thankfully, the three demigods made it through the torturous bus ride and to Lake Superior.

"I'll get us a boat," Percy said, practically running off the crowded bus. Gwen and Bobby watched as he talked to a boat rental guy and paid using the credit card Lilly had given to Gwen for safe-keeping. The three teens stepped on the motorboat, Percy looking right at home while Gwen and Bobby looked a little apprehensive.

"We haven't really done this sort of thing before," Bobby told Percy, who had gotten behind the wheel.

"Don't worry," Percy assured him, "we'll be fine." He turned full circle become aware of all his surroundings. "Mizzenmast," he muttered, and sent a prayer and thanks to his father, whether he was listening or not.

The Son of Poseidon started the motor. "Look for an island guys. It's probably covered by the mist, so no mortals would be near it. And it's most likely further out."

"We'll look out for it," Gwen assured him as she and Bobby stationed themselves on opposite ends of the boat.

"Father, please help me," Percy silently prayed as he guided the boat into the center of the greatest freshwater lake in America.

* * *

*Show the way

**So here it (finally) is. I was just so caught up with work and summer stuff I really ran low on time. I hope this chapter (somewhat) makes up for the long wait. Please forgive me!**

**And please review and let me know what you think!**

**Edit note: thanks to Anonyma for correcting my Latin! Gratis Ago, magister! **


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